Lizzie's Life
by lizziefanfiction67
Summary: A continuation of the popular Lizzie McGuire TV series (Keep all reviews G-rated)
1. High School Lizzie

_A word about my story before you begin reading it: _

I never saw The Lizzie McGuire Movie, so I can't really write happened after it! So basicaly, my story is like a continuation of the series as if the movie had never come out. But I hope you will like it just the same!

I do not own any of the characters from Lizzie McGuire. I am simply writing fanfiction. Please be considerate and do not use my ideas and plots! Thank you.

Chapter 1  
  
Toon Lizzie: I can't believe this is happening! I'm going to high school! Okay, so Gordo went to it before, and didn't quite care for it. But hey, it'll be different now! Miranda, him, and me we all are together. I'm just going to love high school!

Lizzie picked up the outfit that she'd laid out the night before. Her parents had got her ton of new clothes for high school, and this was her absolute favorite.

She carried them out of her room, and headed towards the bathroom. The door was closed. "Matt, are you in there?" She asked, a little bit annoyed.

Toon Lizzie: These are the times that I wish the most that I had my own bathroom! It's my first day of high school, and it's going to take forever to get ready!

"Duh! Why else would the door be closed?" Lizzie heard Matt call out from inside the bathroom. She heard the squishhhh sound of hair gel coming out of a bottle.

"Well... just hurry up!" Lizzie told him, with a hand on her hip. She could practically see Matt rolling his eyes in there, probably trying to take even slower now.

Lizzie hurried back to her room, and started brushing her hair while she waited. She gasped. "I haven't picked out my shoes yet!" She said to herself.

She scrambled over to her closet and thrust open the door. She looked at the rack of last year's worn out shoes. "Mom forgot to get me new shoes!" She exclaimed.

She cringed at her old ones. _Maybe Miranda has some I can borrow!_ She thought, picking up her phone and dialing Miranda's phone number.

"Hello?" A sleepy-sounding voice answered.

"Wake _up_ Miranda! First day of school!" Lizzie exclaimed in disbelief.

Toon Lizzie: How could she not have been up yet?! Hel-lo!

"Please tell me that is not the reason you called, Lizzie!" Miranda replied, yawning into the phone. "I do have an alarm clock, you know!"

"Well, it must not be working, because you should have been up by now! We're going to high school. It's like, the most important thing that should be on our minds right now. Don't you want enough time to get ready? Wait... don't answer that. I don't have time to chat! This is an emergency. I need to borrow some shoes!" Lizzie told Miranda, starting to panic.

"Lizzie. Just chill! I have plenty of time to get ready... and why do you need to borrow shoes?! Don't you have a whole closet full of them?" Miranda asked.

"Yeah, last year's rejects! You don't want to go to high school and have people think I'm a geek, do you?" Lizzie said, exasperated.

"They're just shoes! Besides, why should you care so much about what people think?" Miranda replied, clearly not understanding why Lizzie thought this was such a crisis.

"Who are you and what have you done to Miranda?! You're starting to sound just like Gordo!" Lizzie exclaimed.

She suddenly heard the bathroom door open. "I'll call you back in a few minutes. Bye!" She hung up, rushed to the bathroom, and got changed. She put her hair up into a cool, new scrunchie, along with some clips that all the girls in magazines seemed to be wearing lately.

Toon Lizzie: Maybe Miranda's right... I need to stop stressing so much. But I don't want to wear old shoes... (Looking down at a pair of scuffed up ones)

Lizzie once again took her phone and called Miranda's number. "So do you have any shoes I can wear?"

"Sorry, Lizzie. Miranda's in the bathroom." Lizzie heard Miranda's mom tell her. "But I'm sure she could spare a pair! Could you wait just a minute until she gets out?"

"Sure, thanks." Lizzie replied, a little embarrassed. Mrs. Sanchez put Lizzie on hold, and Lizzie looked through her yearbook while she was waiting.

She read the entry Gordo had written for about the millionth time. Why had it taken so long for him to write it? Was what Kate said at the murder-mystery party about Gordo liking her true?

Lizzie was deep in thought, and the sound of Mrs. Sanchez in her ear startled her. "Here's Miranda, dear."

"Oh... thank you!" Lizzie said. She put the yearbook down.

"Hey Lizzie. Sorry... I was a little grouchy before." Miranda said.

"No problem." Lizzie smiled. "So, do you have any shoes I can borrow?"

"Yeah, my mom bought me some new pairs for school. But how am I supposed to get them to you before school?" Miranda asked her.

"Well, maybe you could bring them onto the bus!" Lizzie exclaimed, an idea forming in her head. "I could wear something on the bus that would slip off easily, like flops. Then I could take them off, and put them in my backpack!"

"Okay. Well, I need to get ready. See you on the bus." Miranda told Lizzie.

"Bye!" Lizzie said excitedly.

She went downstairs, where she found her mom making oatmeal for her and Matt. "Here you go, Lizzie." Jo told her daughter, with puffy eyes.

"Mom, what's wrong? Have you been crying?" Lizzie asked.

"Oh honey, don't worry about me. It's just that you're going to high school..."

Toon Lizzie: Great. Just when I get all excited about it, she makes it sounds like a horrible thing!

"And... then you'll graduate and go to college..." Jo replied, trying not to let a tear fall.

Matt walked in the room. "What's going on here?" He asked, taking a bowl of oatmeal, and poured himself a glass of orange juice.

"Nothing!" Jo, Lizzie, and Toon Lizzie all said at once.

Toon Lizzie: Why does Mom have to get all emotional when Matt comes in the room? Why can't I just have an older brother who sits in his room all the time and ignores me? (Watching a door slam in her face that as rock band posters all over it)

Jo wiped her face. "Eat your oatmeal, Lizzie." She said, trying to smile, and walked quickly upstairs. Lizzie tried to eat, but it was almost impossible.

"What's wrong? Are you scared?" Matt chuckled.

"No, dork! I'm just excited." She said.

Toon Lizzie: Or am I? (Scratches head)

Finally, the time came to go to the bus stop. Since high school was at a different school, she had to wait at a different bus stop. It arrived a few minutes later after she got there.

Her and the others that had been standing around her got on the bus. Lizzie saw Miranda sitting on the right side, and sat down next to her.

"Here are the shoes. Whatever you do, please don't wreck them!" Miranda told her. "Since when would I wreck them?" Lizzie asked.

"Well no offense... but you are a little clumsy..." Miranda replied, her voice trailing off.

"Like when?"

"Well... when you fell into the trash can, when you've hit your head on lockers, when you've tripped and fell, when..."

"Okay I get your point already!" Lizzie said. She sighed. "I'll be careful."

"Thank you." Miranda said. The girls talked all the way to their new school, trying to remember everything Gordo had told them about high school.

The bus made a few stops to pick up some others, and finally it came to the school. Lizzie and Miranda looked out their windows.

"Wow, it's big." Miranda said, looking at it.

"Yeah." Lizzie replied, fidgeting with her hair.

Toon Lizzie: I'm not nervous! I'm not! (Bumps into a stack of school books) Okay... maybe just a little.


	2. Gordo's Disappointment

Everyone got off the bus, and Lizzie and Miranda looked around for where they were supposed to go.

Gordo, who had told them in a letter that he was on a different bus this year than them, was standing over by some benches. He spotted Lizzie and Miranda. Smiling, and a bit nervous himself (And maybe not just about school), he waved to the girls.

"Hi Gordo!" Lizzie said when she and Miranda had walked over to him.

Toon Lizzie: Yes! A familiar face!

She looked at him, and thought to herself that he looked a little bit taller, his hair was a little longer, and his voice a bit deeper than what she'd remembered.

Gordo had been away all summer at video camp, so Lizzie had only seen him once on a small picture of himself and some others guys at the camp that he'd sent in the mail.

Gordo was also thinking that Lizzie looked a little older. His heart was beating fast. "So... uh... how did your summer go?"

"Pretty good." Lizzie replied. "We went to the fair this year. We took these pictures at a photo booth." She told Gordo, showing him a page of a scrapbook she'd made.

Gordo smiled, seeing that in the picture the girls were eating curly fries, just for him. "Those are great! Mind if I look at the rest of the scrapbook?"

"Go ahead!" Miranda said, handing it to him. Just then, the first bell rang. Miranda took it back. "I bring it to lunch." She told Gordo.

They all went inside the school, Gordo sneaking a look at Lizzie every now and then. _Why do I keep doing that?_ He asked himself on the fourth look. _She thinks of me as a best friend. Not Gordo, the cute guy who she wants to go out with..._

"Gordo! Pay attention!" Lizzie said, bringing him back to reality.

"Huh?" He said.

"They want everyone to go to the gym so they can give tell us which classes we're in." Miranda explained to him.

"Oh." Gordo replied. He hadn't really thought of the possibility that they wouldn't all be in the same classes.

On their way over to the gym, Lizzie finally saw someone else from her old school. "Miranda!" She whispered quickly. "Look, it's Ethan!"

Gordo groaned disappointedly under his breath. _I would have thought he would failed last year! He got like, D's on almost everything!_ He reluctantly walked over to Ethan with Lizzie and Miranda. He looked down at the ground.

"Ladies!" Ethan exclaimed, his hair looking even better than it did last year. He smoothed it back.

"Hi... Ethan!" Miranda said nervously. "How was... uh... your summer?"

"It was great. I went water skiing... but then I fell off. Or did I go jet skiing? I get those mixed up..." Ethan said.

Lizzie started to say something but was interrupted by a voice. She almost expected it to be Kate trying to interrupt their time with Ethan. But when she turned around, she saw a tall man with a nametag that clearly stated he was the principal.

"Move it people! Into the gym!" He said in a tough voice. "We haven't got all day!" Lizzie nodded embarrassedly, and her, Miranda, and Gordo walked quickly to the gym.

Ethan was still standing there looking confused. Lizzie felt sorry for him.

Gordo saw Lizzie looking back at Ethan, and wanted to get her attention on something else. So while they walked, he tried telling her about video camp. He even added that he wished she were there, too (and also added Miranda to that so she wouldn't feel slided), in hopes that she would say she wished that she had been there with him.

Toon Lizzie: I know Gordo wants to chat about his video camp now, but can't he tell that my mind is on this new school right now? I mean, Miranda and I have never been here before. It's hard to concentrate on him talking about his "next big thing"!

So Lizzie just smiled, and opened the door to the gym when they got there.

Gordo sighed disappointedly. _Why do I even try? She's just going to keep falling for Ethan, especially now that Kate isn't here._ Gordo thought to himself.

Kate had told Lizzie in a snobby E-mail that she was going to a "richer, better school" this year, just to try and make her jealous.

Gordo sneaked another look at Lizzie. She was looking around for a place to sit among the metal chairs that were all spread out.

"Over here!" Lizzie motioned for him and Miranda to come over to three empty seats. Lizzie sat down in the middle of them, so Gordo got to sit next to Lizzie.

_Her eyes are so beautiful._ Gordo thought. Lizzie looked at him.

"What's with the staring? Do I have something on my face?" Lizzie asked, worried. Gordo quickly shook his head.

"Oh! Uh... no. It's nothing!" He said, and tried to focus, on the principal, who was now walking up onto the stage and started talking into the microphone. Lizzie raised an eyebrow.

Toon Lizzie: Why is Gordo acting so jittery? Miranda and I have the right to, but he's been here before! He knows what it's like!

The principal tapped the microphone. "Is this thing on?" Squealing from the microphone filled the room. Everyone covered their ears. Finally it stopped. "Sorry about that." The principal said. "I'm Principal Silvertune. Welcome to East Coast High school. Now I'm the kind of guy who likes to get right to the point. So let's see who's in what class!" He said, as if this moment was exciting.

Miranda squirmed in her seat. "Lizzie, I need to go to the bathroom!"

"So go!" Lizzie exclaimed.

"But he's right in the middle of his announcements! I can't!" Miranda protested. Lizzie sighed.

Toon Lizzie: Leave it Miranda to always have to go when something important was going on, just like that time Gordo was dating Brooke!

"Look, I'll write down what classes he says you're in if you miss it. Then I'll just give you the paper when you come back!" Lizzie whispered, and got out a pen and a sheet of paper from her blue bubble backpack.

Miranda thanked her, and scurried out of the room. This left Gordo and Lizzie alone. Lizzie thought nothing of it, but Gordo was wishing that they were together like this at the movies instead of at school.

He started daydreaming. Sitting in the movies, eating popcorn while watching a romantic story about...

"Pay attention, Gordo! They're about to come to your name!" Lizzie whispered. Gordo's head snapped up.

"What? Oh!" He blinked a few times, and focused on Principal Silvertune.

"Gordon, David: Arithmetic, Ms. Wesler. English, Mr. Kibler. Biology, Mr. Chambers. Health, Mrs. Mahoney. And History, Ms. Pasquarello." Principal Silvertune announced.

"I don't know who they are, but they sound like okay teachers." Gordo commented to Lizzie. Lizzie nodded.

A minute later Miranda rushed back into the room and sat back down in her seat. "Who did I miss?" She whispered.

"Just Gordo. They're on the last names that start with 'H' now." Lizzie told her.

_'Just Gordo'? How's that for appreciation?_ Gordo thought with a frown.

After what seemed like forever, P.S. (Principal Silvertune) called out the last names that started with an 'M'. Mcgregor...Mcguffie... finally! McGuire! "Mcguire, Lizzie:" Gordo watched in anticipation. What if she was only a few of his classes? Or worse, in none of them?


	3. Emotions

"Arithmetic, Ms. Wesler. English, Mr. Kibler. Biology, Mrs. Krammer. Health, Mrs. Mahoney. And History, Ms. Pasquarello." P.S. said.

_Yes! Only one class different!_ Gordo thought excitedly. He was thinking so much about Lizzie, that he'd forgot completely about poor Miranda.

When P.S. called out her name and her classes, she wasn't in the same Arithmetic, History, or Health class as Lizzie and Gordo.

Miranda looked crushed.

"I'm so sorry." Lizzie said, not knowing what else to say.

Toon Lizzie: This is so not fair! Doesn't this school have any respect for best friends?! (Puts hands on hips)

Gordo on the other hand, was a little relieved. He liked Miranda as a best friend and all. But without her in all the same classes as him and Lizzie, Lizzie wouldn't be as distracted. Therefore, helping her pay more attention to him!

He started getting more excited, and Miranda gave him a strange look. "Why are you smiling?" She demanded.

"Uh... I, um..." He started to say. Suddenly, he came up with an excuse. "I just remembered that I got the world's high score on Hackysack 3,000!"

Lizzie also gave him a strange look. With high-raised eyebrows she asked him, "What, in the _world_, is Hackysack 3,000?"

"Oh! You see... it's this thing...on the Internet! Yeah! Good old internet." Gordo tried, with a smile that looked much too corny.

Toon Lizzie: Okay, if there was an award for the most fake-sounding lie ever, Gordo's would win!

Lizzie tried to smile, but it came out corny, too. Something was bothering Gordo, and she wanted to know what it was!

_I know what I'll do! I'll just talk it over with him. We could go to the Digital Bean after school! Well... after homework. Gordo told us there was a lot of that here!_ Lizzie thought to herself. _Best friends always try to help each other, right?_

The rest of the school day went pretty well, although Gordo was still acting a little of weird, in Lizzie's opinion.

Gordo had looked at Miranda's scrapbook during lunch, and had really liked it. Him, Lizzie, and Miranda all wrote their signatures on the last page, and Lizzie taped a picture on it that Miranda taken of all three of them at their new school.

Lizzie called Gordo about two hours after they'd gotten home from school, when she was done with her homework.

"Hello?" Lizzie heard Gordo's now-a-bit-deeper voice ask into his phone.

"Hi. This is Lizzie. I wanted to know if you wanted to come with me to the Digital Bean this afternoon." Lizzie told him. "You know, maybe study together for that History quiz Mrs. Pasquarello mentioned?"

"Sure! I mean... yeah, I guess I could do it." Gordo said, wanting to hit himself for sounding so lame. "So uh... is Miranda coming?"

"I didn't ask. I, uh, kind of wanted to talk to you about something. I'll meet you there, okay?"

"Okay, bye." Gordo told her, secretly glad that him and her could go there together alone. _I wonder what she wants to talk to me about. _He thought, and started daydreaming again.

A little later, Jo drove Lizzie to the D.B., and dropped her off.

Lizzie looked around, and saw Gordo sitting at a table. He was looking at himself in a dark blue pocket mirror, fixing his hair.

Toon Lizzie: Since when does he try to make himself look nice for me?

"Hi!" Lizzie said walking up to him.

Gordo quickly looked up, and stuffed his mirror into a pocket on his cargo pants. "Oh, Hi! I... ordered some smoothies for us. Strawberry, your favorite!"

Lizzie smiled and thanked him. Sitting down, she tried to gather up the courage to talk to Gordo. "Remember how I said I wanted to talk to you about something?"

"Yeah." Gordo said, not knowing really what else to say.

"Well... you've been acting a little strange lately and-" Lizzie started, but was interrupted when all the lights went out! "What happened?"

All Lizzie heard was a muffled "Hey!" and the sound of someone running away. "Gordo, what's going on?" Lizzie exclaimed. Her heart skipped a beat when she didn't hear him respond. "Gordo?"

Silence.

"Someone, please help me! My friend is gone!" Lizzie called out. She heard people all around her talking, wondering what was happening. She heard footsteps. "Gordo?" She asked, hopefully.

"This is the manager of Digital Bean. Someone turned off the power in he building and ran out of here. We'll have it back on in a minute." The manager said in a loud voice so everyone there could hear her.

"But my friend is gone! I don't know what happened to him!" Lizzie told her. Lizzie could just make out her shape in the darkness.

"He probably just went to use the restroom, dear." "But he was right with me before the lights went out!" Lizzie told her, worried.

Just then, the power came back on, and Lizzie looked frantically around.

Toon Lizzie: Why am I so worried all of a sudden? Maybe he got up while the power was out, and I just didn't know it!

"I'll have one of the employees look for him if he doesn't turn up in a few minutes, okay hon'?" The manager told her.

Lizzie nodded, and a waitress brought her the smoothies that Gordo had ordered. She thanked her, and tried to drink it. But her stomach felt like it was twisted in a knot. For some reason, she just didn't think that Gordo was in the building.

She paid for the smoothies at the counter, and scurried outside. "Gordo!" She called. "Gordo?!"

No one answered her, but a few people looked at her with a strange look. One girl rolled her eyes and continued her jogging.

Toon Lizzie: Boy, what helpful people live in my town! (crosses arms)


	4. Finding Gordo

Lizzie walked back inside the D.B, and went over to a pay phone.

Sliding a quarter into the change slot, she dialed her number.

"McGuire residence." Jo answered.

"Mom, Gordo's gone." Lizzie said.

"What? What do you mean, 'gone', Lizzie?" Jo asked, confused.

"Gone as in disappeared!" Lizzie replied impatiently. She tapped her fingers on top of the phone booth while she explained what had happened.

"How can you be sure that he's not in the building? Have you even looked?" Mom asked, not wanting to believe what she was thinking.

"Well, just a little. But Mom, how could he have gotten up that fast without me knowing it? In the dark? Without telling me?" Lizzie told Jo. "The more I think about it, the more I think that Gordo wouldn't just get up and leave me like that."

"I see your point, Lizzie. And I hate to alarm you, but I think maybe... that Gordo might have been kidnapped.

"What?!"

Toon Lizzie: Kidnapped! Ohmygosh! Of course that's going to alarm me!

"I know this is hard to believe, but that sounds to me like that was what happened. I'll be right there. You keep looking for him."

Jo told her worried daughter, and hung up.

Lizzie also hung up, and walked around in her chunky boots, looking for any sign of her friend. She walked over to the manager. "Ma'am, my friend still hasn't turned up."

"Okay. I'll send an employee to look in the men's bathroom." The manager told her. Lizzie saw that her nametag read, 'Darla Kurtwell'. "Henry!" Darla said, quickly walking over to a waiter.

She explained the situation, and the waiter nodded. He walked in the direction of the restroom, while Lizzie tried to calm down.

After a minute or two, the waiter came out from the restroom. "Sorry, Miss. There's no one in there."

"Oh no." Lizzie said, sinking down onto a chair. By now, everyone at the D.B. was talking about "some kid who was kidnapped".

Jo finally arrived, and rushed over to Lizzie. "Any sign of Gordo?" She asked.

"No Mom! I can't believe this was happening. One minute, we were talking, and then the next, he's gone!" Lizzie said, tears forming in her eyes, threatening to fall down her cheeks.

"Don't you worry about a thing. Gordo will be all right. You go get a glass of water, and I'll call the police." Jo told her.

Toon Lizzie: How can Mom be so sure? She has to say that kind of stuff!

Matt had also come along with Jo. He sat down in a chair, looking depressed. He really liked Gordo. "He was like a big brother to me!" He said to himself, shaking his head.

Lizzie wearily sipped some water out of a paper D.B. cup.

Toon Lizzie: He's so nice. Nothing like this had ever happened before. Why did it have to happen now?

She suddenly realized that Miranda didn't know that any of this was going on. Mom was done talking on the pay phone, so Lizzie rushed over to it. She dug in her wallet to find another quarter.

Jo walked over to her. "The police are on their way." Jo told Lizzie. Lizzie nodded. "Who are you calling?"

"Miranda." Lizzie replied, picking up her quarter, which she'd dropped on the floor.

"Oh honey, I wouldn't get her all worried. We're not even sure if Gordo was really kidnapped yet. Let the police investigates first, okay?" Jo told Lizzie.

"But Mom! She's one of my best friends. She has a right to know!" Lizzie protested.

Just then, Lizzie saw Miranda walk in through the D.B. door. She looked around, confused as to why everything was so crazy.

"Miranda! Over here!" Lizzie called out. Miranda looked up, and saw where Lizzie was motioning for her to come over.

"What in the world is going on here?" She asked, once she scurried over to Lizzie. "Gordo's missing! We think he may have been kidnapped!" She said, and explained the story again.

Miranda was speechless. She just stood there with her mouth hanging open in disbelief.

The police arrived, and starting asking Lizzie a whole bunch of questions. She tried to answer them the best she could.

"We're going to start searching right away." One of the policemen told her. He quickly took out his police cell phone, and asked that a search helicopter be sent out.

"What are the odds of finding him?" Jo asked him.

"If he really was kidnapped, it may take quite a while, Ma'am. In this kind of situation where the kidnapper wasn't seen, it's very hard to try to find them." The policeman told her. "We'll do our best."

Him and the other policemen left. They turned on their car sirens, and started searching. All of this was too much for Lizzie.

She started crying, right there at the D.B. Jo tried her best to comfort her, while Miranda was still in shock. Matt had ordered some apple juice, and was slowly slurping it in deep thought.

"Why don't we go back to the house? We can call around and ask if anyone has seen him." Jo suggested.

Lizzie nodded through sniffles. Jo offered to take Miranda home with them, and she accepted.

Toon Lizzie: What in the world am I going to do if we never find Gordo?

Two Days Later:

Lizzie was sitting in her arithmetic class, looking at the empty seat beside her where Gordo used to site.

There was no sign of Gordo anywhere, and his picture had been posted in the "Missing Child" section of the newspaper. Minutes felt like hours to Lizzie, slowly going by. Even Ethan's sympathy had not cheered her up.

That day she went over to Miranda's house, but didn't have any fun. Both girls looked through Miranda's scrapbook again, remembering all the good times they'd had with Gordo.

At the McGuire's house, all was quiet. Jo had been sitting near the phone all day, with Gordo's mom with her.

Suddenly, the phone rang. Jo quickly picked it up. "Hello?" "This is Sergeant Pixlewerth."

"Yes, hello! Did you find him?"

"Yes Ma'am. But he's in the hospital, listed as in critical condition. I'm very sorry."

"Well what's wrong with him?" Jo asked, concerned. Gordo's mom had her ear up to the phone, also listening to what Sergeant Pixlewerth had to say.

"He has amnesia."


	5. Trying to Helping Gordo

An hour later, Lizzie, Miranda, Matt, and the parents were all at the hospital.  
  
Sergeant Pixelwerth had explained what had happened. Gordo had been found in the woods, knocked unconscious. When the police had found him, he didn't know who he was or what had happened. They brought him to the hospital, and found out that he had amnesia.  
  
"We'd like to see a patient by the name of David Gordon please." Gordo's mother asked the nurse at the counter.  
  
"The computer shows that he's in room 218. But while patients are listed in critical condition, only family members are aloud to see them." The nurse told them.  
  
"But I _have_ to see him! He's one of my best friends!" Lizzie burst out.  
  
"Me too!" Miranda added.  
  
"I'm sorry girls, but rules are rules." The nurse said, and gave Gordo's mom and dad a hospital pass each to go visit Gordo.  
  
Miranda and Lizzie sat in the waiting room, sulking and feeling sorry for Gordo.  
  
Toon Lizzie: It must be awful to have amnesia! Not knowing whom you are, what happened, or who the people around you are. I wish I could help him!  
  
A doctor came in the waiting room to explain Gordo's condition to the McGuire's and the Sanchez's. His nametag read, "Dr. Petersburg", in bright yellow letters. "Hi there. I'm Dr. Petersburg."  
  
Toon Lizzie: How can he be so cheerful?  
  
"Let me explain Gordo's condition a little better. He hasn't really lost his memory, but his brain can't access the information. He needs things to help his brain to be able to reach that knowledge." Dr. Petersburg told them.  
  
"What can we do to help?" Lizzie asked him.  
  
"Bringing things to him, such as pictures and papers that are important to him tends to work well on amnesiac patients. Calmly explaining things to him is also a good way, but don't push it. We don't want to give him too much info at one time. You'll be able to do these things in a day or so, when he's condition is not listed as critical anymore." Dr. Petersburg explained.  
  
Matt nodded. "We can bring him your scrapbook, Miranda!"  
  
"Yeah, that should help some. What are some other things we can bring?" She said, turning to Lizzie.  
  
"How about one of the videos he's made? He's got to recognize that!" Lizzie suggested.  
  
"Yes, video's also seem to work well." The doctor replied. "I've got to get back to my work, so please excuse me. I'm sorry that this happened."  
  
Jo thanked him for his help, and he left the room. "Well, I suppose there's no sense in just sitting around here. We'll come back in a couple of days." She said to Lizzie.  
  
The Sanchez's drove Miranda home, and Jo drove Lizzie and Matt back to their home. Lizzie, who had never got to study with Gordo for her history quiz, started doing that. It was hard to concentrate though.  
  
Toon Lizzie: I sure hope he gets better soon. It's lonely studying by myself!

* * *

  
Lizzie slowly opened the door to the hospital room. She saw Gordo lying in his bed, sleeping. Lizzie had sneaked out that night. She just had to see Gordo, to see if he remembered her. Lizzie had also sneaked past the nurses and doctors.  
  
Now she quickly went in the room, and noiselessly closed the door behind her. "Gordo?"  
  
Gordo started stirring in his sleep. He rolled over to one side.  
  
"Gordo, wake up." Lizzie tried again.  
  
His eyes fluttered open. "What?" His eyes opened wider. "Who are you?"  
  
"I'm Lizzie. One of your best friends!" She walked closer to him so he could see her better. Don't you remember me at all?" Lizzie asked him.  
  
"Look, kid, I couldn't even remember who were my_ parents_ when I got in here. How do you expect me to know who you are?" He said.  
  
Toon Lizzie: He doesn't have to be grouchy about it!  
  
Lizzie sighed. "Okay. Well, I brought you some pictures to look at. Maybe they'll help." She handed him her pocket photo album, which she always carried in her purse. "The pictures are a little old, but I think they'll still bring back something."  
  
Gordo took the photo album in his hands. He opened it up, looking at the first photo. It was a picture of him and Lizzie, at the D.B. Miranda had taken it with Lizzie's camera for the scrapbook, but Lizzie had forgotten to give it to her. 

He stared at it for a while, trying to remember. He looked up at Lizzie, and then down back at the photo. He took a mirror from the table next to him, and compared it to the picture. "It does look like me." He said. "Where was I?"  
  
"We were at The Digital Bean. It's a place that me, you, and Miranda hang out at after school." Lizzie replied.

Toon Lizzie: Come on Gordo, you have to remember _something_ about it! We go there almost every day! Or better yet, remember me!  
  
"Miranda?" Gordo asked.  
  
"She's your other best friend." Lizzie told him. She turned the page in the photo album. "This is a picture of you and my brother, Matt. Playing hackysack."  
  
Gordo stared at this photo for a while, too. Something was nagging at his brain. The name Lizzie was rumbling around in it. It sounded so familiar...  
  
"Want to see the next photo?"  
  
"Huh? Oh! Okay." Gordo said, and turned the page. There showed a picture of Kate at her old school, when Lizzie used to be friends with her. "She's pretty. Who is she?"  
  
Toon Lizzie: _She's_ pretty? But Kate said you like _me_!  
  
"Um, her name is Kate." Lizzie quickly turned the page. "You don't want to know about her, though. She's a snob."  
  
"Oh." Was all Gordo said.  
  
Toon Lizzie: Why didn't he say I was pretty when he saw the picture of us? This is unfair! Wait a minute... did I just say that? Maybe _I'm_ the one who likes _him_. I did have a crush on him when I was in the fourth grade after all...  
  
Suddenly, Lizzie heard the knob on the door start to open. "I've got to hide!" She whispered to Gordo.  
  
She made a quick dart for the bathroom, and closed the door behind her. Inside, she heard Gordo quickly stuffing the photo album under his pillow.

She pressed her ear against the door, and listened very hard.  
  
"Sorry to disturb you, David. But it's time for your medication." The nurse said, handing him a glass of water and a pill.  
  
"David? But I thought she called me..." Gordo said, and then clamped his hand or his mouth.  
  
Toon Lizzie: No! Don't say that! They'll find me in here!  
  
"Who is 'she'?" The nurse asked him suspiciously.  
  
"Uh... just someone is my dream. That's all." Gordo said quickly. The nurse didn't look quite convinced, but left the room without asking any more questions.

Lizzie wait about a minute to make sure she was gone, and then came out of the stuffy bathroom.  
  
Gordo was staring at her when she did. "Lizzie, you seem so familiar to me. But I just can't..." He sighed, and ran his hand through his hair.  
  
Toon Lizzie: I'm familiar! I'm familiar! (Jumps up and down) C'mon, Gordo, think!


	6. Progress!

Gordo tried his best to remember Lizzie, but he just couldn't. He sighed.  
  
"It's okay Gordo." Lizzie said, a little disappointed. "Don't stress yourself. I have to get back to my house before someone notices I'm gone. You can keep the photo album for a while if you'd like."  
  
"Sure, thanks." Gordo told Lizzie. "Come back soon. Maybe I'll remember something the next time."  
  
Lizzie nodded, and said good-bye. She cautiously opened the door, and looked around. No one was in sight. She quickly hurried out, closing the door quietly behind her.

She was just about out the door of the hospital, when she heard someone say, "Hold it right there!" Lizzie whirled around.The nurse that had been in Gordo's room was standing behind her, tapping her heel.  
  
"Uh, yes?" Lizzie said nervously.  
  
"I'm on the phone with some concerned parents, whose last name are the McGuire's." The nurse told her.  
  
Toon Lizzie: Busted! (Shoulders sag)  
  
"They're looking for a girl that fits your description." The nurse continued.  
  
Toon Lizzie: Not fair! They were all asleep when I left! How could they have found that I was missing?  
  
"The... McGuire's?" Lizzie repeated, trying to sound innocent.  
  
The nurse gave her a look that said, "I so know you're their daughter". She handed Lizzie the phone.  
  
Lizzie sighed and took it. "Hi." She said sullenly into the phone.  
  
"Lizzie McGuire, how could you just sneak off like that?! I was so _worried_!" Jo demanded. "Ive been calling everyone I know to ask if they've seen you! I went into your room because I left my glasses in there when I was looking for my hairbrush earlier."  
  
"At night? Why would you want your glasses?" Lizzie said, trying to get off the subject of her sneaking out.  
  
"I couldn't sleep, and I wanted to read the newspaper! But that has nothing to do with this! You're father is on his way right now to go get you. We'll talk about your punishment when you come home." Jo replied angrily, and hung up.  
  
Lizzie handed the phone back to the nurse embarrassedly, and sat down on a waiting bench. When Sam got to the hospital, Lizzie had never seen him so angry-looking. She followed him out to the car, and the whole way home, neither one said a word.  
  
Two Days Later:  
  
Lizzie had been grounded for three weeks, except for going to see Gordo with her parents to help his memory. Her parents couldn't trust her at least for a long time, so they drove her there and to school, which Lizzie felt embarrassed about.  
  
Miranda sympathized, telling Lizzie about a time something like that had happened to her.  
  
Meanwhile, Gordo was slowly starting to remember things about himself, such as that he liked curly fries, and that he was in high school now. Names people told him sounded familiar, but that was it. Everyday he looked at the photo album, but it didn't do much good.  
  
One day, Miranda came to visit him. She brought a home video of him, Lizzie, and herself all eating food in their old school cafeteria.  
  
Gordo recognized Larry Tudgemen, out of all people. "Hey that's the guy who always wore the same shirt!" He suddenly exclaimed. He scratched his head. "Now how did I remember that?"  
  
And the next day, Lizzie brought the video Gordo had made about their school. At the time he had been into doing hidden-camera things. Gordo thought it was funny, but it didn't really bring any memories to him.  
  
Two weeks had past, and Gordo still wasn't remembering many people. "Is this normal?" Gordo's mom asked Doctor Petersburg.  
  
"Different patients vary. There's really not way to tell when all of his memory will be restored." He told her.  
  
Days at high school were lonely for Lizzie, even though Miranda was there some of the time with her. It felt to her like a part of her was missing now that Gordo wasn't there. She missed him so much.  
  
But days also past slowly for Gordo. Not knowing those who called themselves his friends made it difficult for him to be around them. "Will I ever remember?" He asked himself with a sigh.  
  
Flipping through the pages in the photo album for about the thousandth time, he stared at the picture of Matt and the hackysack game.

Suddenly, something flashed in his mind. _Hackysack 3,000! That's it!_ Gordo thought excitedly to himself. _Or is it... What does that mean to me?_  
  
Gordo sat deep in thought for quite some time. _Hackysack 3,000... Lizzie... something about being in a gym..._ He sighed. His head hurt. He knew he should try and rest, but he just couldn't stop thinking.  
  
He suddenly looked up with a grin on his face. "I know who Lizzie is now!" He exclaimed.

Just at the time, a Doctor Petersburg walked in the room. "What did you say, David?"

Gordo looked up. "I remembered something important... can I call someone?"

"Sure! I'm glad to know that you've made some progress! Follow me. I'll show you where our patient curtosy phone area is." The doctor told him. Gordo got up out of his bed (a little wobbly from have been lying there for a long time), and followed.

He brought the photo album with him, since it had Lizzie's phone number on the inside cover. He picked up the reciever of a phone, and the doctor left the room. Dialing Lizzie's number, he tried to calm his rapidly beating heart.

"Hello?" A voice said.

"I need to talk to Lizzie." Gordo said.

"Okay." It was Matt who answered the phone, and knocked on Lizzie's door.

"Stop bothering me, dweeb!" Lizzie told Matt, since just a few minutes ago Matt had burst in and sprayed whip cream all over one of her new shirts. She was stilling trying to get all of it off with a damp paper towel.

"But there's a guuuuy on the phone!" Matt said, making kissy noises.

Confused, Lizzie rushed to open her door. She grabbed the phone from Matt. Pushing a lock of her blond hair behind her ear, she asked, "Hello?"

"Lizzie, this is Gordo."


	7. Feelings Trying To Come Out

"Gordo!" Lizzie exclaimed.  
  
"I finally remembered! You are my best friend. You're the one that I've had a..." He stopped himself just before he was about to say 'crush on for a really long time'. "Never mind. But I know now. I really know!" Gordo told her excitedly.  
  
"Gordo! That's terrific. I'm so happy for you!" Lizzie said, jumping up and down with the phone in her hands. "Do you remember anything else?"  
  
There was a slight pause, as Gordo was thinking. "Something about... being in a gym with you, and talking about Hackysack 3,000."  
  
"Miranda was there with us, too. I told you she was your other best friend."  
  
"Yeah... yeah! That's it! She's the one who had to go to bathroom during the time we were in the gym!" He cringed. _Why did I have to go and say that?!  
_  
Lizzie stifled a laugh. "What about why we were in the gym? Can you remember that?"  
  
There was another pause.  
  
"I'll give you a hint. It had something to do with the principal at our high school. Principal Silvertune." Lizzie told him.  
  
Gordo softly repeated his name. "Hey... isn't he that guy who told us which classes we were in?"  
  
"Yes! Gordo, I'm so glad you're remembering things now." Lizzie said, smiling shyly. She could practically see Gordo grinning his cute grin into the phone.  
  
Another week had passed, and Gordo's memory seemed to be completely restored. He'd finally remembered what had happened. Someone did try to kidnap him. But then the kidnapper must have knocked him out to stop him from making noise.  
  
Gordo's guess was that someone had seen the kidnapper, who got scared and ran off. Then left Gordo in the woods for someone else to find.  
  
When he was finally let to go home from the hospital, his parents threw a welcome home party for him. It was a blast.  
  
People slowly started going home, until Lizzie was the last one there. Jo called a little earlier to tell her that she was going to be a little late because she had to drop Matt off at Lanny's house. That was certainly okay by Lizzie! She didn't want the fun to end.  
  
Her and Gordo sat out on the porch in the Gordon's house. They were posting pictures from the party into a new scrapbook, since the old one was filled up. Thanks to Lizzie's Polaroid camera, they had the pictures quick.  
  
"I'm so glad you're back, Gordo." Lizzie told him. "I was lonely without you."  
  
"Even though you had Ethan practically all you yourself?" Gordo said, frowning.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Lizzie asked, surprised.  
  
"Nothing." Gordo said with a sigh, taping a picture of him and her throwing water balloons at each other.  
  
Toon Lizzie: Funny. That 'nothing' sure sounded like a 'something'!  
  
"We never did get to finish talking at the Digital Bean." Lizzie reminded him. Gordo nodded. "So what I wanted to talk to you about was... well..."  
  
Gordo looked up at her. _Please don't say what I think you're going to say._ He thought silently to himself.  
  
"You've been acting kind of strange ever since we've started going to high school." She continued.  
  
_She's going to say it._ Gordo thought nervously.  
  
"And, I think I might know why, but I don't want to say it if it's not true." Lizzie told him. "Does that make sense?"  
  
_She's saying it._ "Yeah... actually is does." Gordo said, looking down at his shoes.  
  
Is there something you want to tell me?" Lizzie asked, looking into his bright eyes.  
  
_She said it_. "I wouldn't exactly call it want to... but I-I..." Gordo tried to say. He sighed. _Gordo, pull yourself together. It's not that hard._ _All you have to say is, 'I like you, Lizzie!' That's all you have to say! She's not going to get angry or something. Just SAY IT!_  
  
Lizzie nodded, trying to get him to continue.  
  
Suddenly the door to the porch opened. Mrs. Gordon was standing in the doorway. "Lizzie, your mom is here."  
  
"But she said she was coming later!" Lizzie said with disappointment.  
  
"Lanny and his parents had to rush to a school meeting that they had forgot about. Sorry, dear." Mrs. Gordon said sympathetically. Lizzie nodded, but still wished she could stay longer.  
  
"I'll call you later, okay Gordo?" She said to him.  
  
"I'll be waiting." Gordo replied. They said good-bye, and Jo drove Lizzie home.  
  
The next day, Gordo went back to school. Lizzie saw him over by Miranda at the water fountain, and waved. "Hey guys!" Lizzie exclaimed.  
  
"Hi." Gordo said.  
  
"What is wrong with you?"  
  
"You never called."  
  
"Well, sorry, but there is this thing called life. Matt stuck gum to the bottom of my shoes, fell down because of it, and knocked over the table with Dad's new garden gnome on it." Lizzie explained. "It fell off and broke into a ton of pieces, and Dad grounded me before I could even explain what happened!"  
  
Miranda just stood there, feeling a little left out.  
  
"That stinks. Couldn't you have told your mom what happened?" Gordo asked her.  
  
"She was watching the news, and told Matt and I that if we came in there and bothered her, she'd make us cook all the meals for a week." Lizzie said.  
  
"Ouch." Gordo replied.  
  
"Yeah, big ouch. I wouldn't mind the cooking that much, but working with looser boy would be a disaster." Lizzie told him.  
  
Miranda tapped her shoe. "Still here, guys."  
  
Both Lizzie and Gordo looked up at her. "Oh, sorry." Lizzie said apologetically. Suddenly she saw Ethan. "Miranda, look, there's Ethan!" She whispered. "Now's your chance to talk to him!"  
  
Toon Lizzie: Why did I say that? Why aren't _I_ excited about seeing Ethan? I used to be!  
  
"Thanks!" Miranda whispered back, and started walking towards him. "H-hi Ethan!" She said.  
  
Lizzie giggled. "Don't they look cute together?"  
  
Gordo rolled his eyes.  
  
"Oh lighten up, Gordo!" She playfully whacked his shoulder. His books fell out of his hands and fell of his foot.  
  
He winced.  
  
"Oh Gordo, I'm sorry!" Lizzie said, helping him pick up his books.  
  
Toon Lizzie: Just great. Gordo's finally back, and I have to go and embarrass myself! 


	8. The Surprise

Hey guys! Sorry about the strawberry smoothie thing in chapter 3. For some reason I was thinking that it was her favorite kind instead of being allergic to it!

* * *

"It's okay, Lizzie." Gordo told her. For a brief moment, their eyes met. Gordo smiled.  
  
Miranda rushed back to them. "You guys will never, ever, _ever_ guess what just happened!" She exclaimed. Gordo rolled his eyes, wishing Miranda hadn't interrupted them. Lizzie didn't notice.  
  
"What?" Lizzie asked Miranda.  
  
Gordo silently walked away, with much disappointment.  
  
"I'm going to the movies with Ethan!" Miranda squealed, and was smiling the widest smile Lizzie had ever seen her smile.  
  
"Ohmygosh! I'm so happy for you!" Lizzie exclaimed and hugged her. Both girls squealed some more.  
  
"So your not jealous?" Miranda asked quickly.  
  
"No way! I mean, Ethan _totally_ deserves someone like you. Not someone like Kate!" Lizzie replied.  
  
"Are you sure you won't feel left out?" Miranda asked, making sure so she wouldn't feel guilty.  
  
"I'm sure. But tell me all about it when you get back!" Lizzie told her, and Miranda agreed. Lizzie looked around. "Hey, where did Gordo go?" Miranda shrugged, and the girls kept on talking.  
  
Meanwhile, Gordo was in his arithmetic class. He was early, but that was good for him. He needed some time to sort his thoughts out. 

He had been so close to telling Lizzie how he felt at his house, and now he felt too nervous to try again. He thought that Lizzie wouldn't feel the same way. That she would always like Ethan instead of him.  
  
But if he had stayed around to listen to Miranda and Lizzie's conversation, maybe he would have realized that she didn't.  
  
Later on that day, Lizzie was on the bus home with Miranda. She was trying giving her tips on how to make Miranda's date a success. "Don't eat too many snacks, and don't laugh if he says anything... well... dumb. They both giggled.  
  
"What about if I have to go use the restroom? What do I say then?" Miranda asked.  
  
"Just say something like, 'Excuse me, Ethan, I'll be back in a minute.'" Lizzie replied, and both girls giggled some more.  
  
Toon Lizzie: This is a moment in history! Miranda is actually going on a _date_ with Ethan Kraft! (Jumps up and down excitedly)  
  
The bus finally came to Lizzie's stop, and the girls said good-bye to each other. "Have an awesome time!" Lizzie told Miranda, and she smiled and waved.  
  
Lizzie walked inside her house, be careful to look around for any of Matt's traps that might be about. But Matt couldn't have set any up if he had wanted to, because he had to stay after school.  
  
Lizzie saw a note on the table for her, and read it:  
  
_Lizzie,  
  
The school had called to tell me that Matt put rubber bugs in the cafeteria pudding, and in the macaroni and cheese._ (Rolling eyes smiley)_ I'm out picking him up school, and will be back in a little while. -Mom_  
  
So Lizzie opened up the refrigerator door, to look for a snack. She took out some strawberries, and took them up to her room on a yellow, daisy- print plate. She wished she could call Gordo, but Sam had grounded her tomorrow, which was the end of the week.  
  
She was aloud to use her computer though. So she signed on to her instant-messaging program, and looked to see if he was online. She sighed when she found out that he wasn't. She really wanted him to be able to explain what was on his mind.  
  
Gordo wasn't online, because he was staring at a picture of Lizzie. He'd put the picture in a gold picture frame, which made her beautiful hair and her sparkling eyes stand out even more._ I just have to tell Lizzie what I think. Otherwise, someday I accidentally just blurt t out, and then I'd feel even more embarrassed._ He thought to himself.  
  
He turned on his computer. It seemed to take forever to load. He banged the side of the screen impatiently. He clicked into the instant messenger, but by the time he did, Lizzie had gotten off.  
  
She was downstairs, opening the door for Jo because she had lost the key. "Hi Mom." Lizzie said to her.  
  
"Hi Lizzie." Her mom said, looking worn out. Matt had a scowl on his face, and he stomped up to his room without even making one rude remark to Lizzie.  
  
"Could you help me make dinner, please? Your father's going to be home soon, and I haven't even started on it!" Jo asked Lizzie.  
  
"Sure. I don't really have much else to do. Today was a homework-free day because all the teachers had to leave early to go to some meeting." Lizzie replied, getting out some lettuce, tomatoes, and dressing for a salad.  
  
Jo put some noodles and hamburger pieces into a pot, and Lizzie cringed. "Mom, do we really have to have stroganoff again?" Lizzie asked, looking sullenly at it, knowing it would taste bad.  
  
"Lizzie, the last thing I need is for you to be complaining, too." Jo told her irritated.  
  
Lizzie guessed that talking with Matt's teachers must not have gone that well.  
  
Toon Lizzie: Actually, they _never_ seem to go well.  
  
Sam came home a few minutes later. He walked in the front door, and immediately frowned at the smell of Jo's stroganoff.  
  
He put his briefcase down, and took off his shoes. Walking into the kitchen, he was surprised to see Lizzie helping Jo with the cooking. "My daughter the chef!" He said.  
  
"No Dad," Lizzie said with a smile, "Just helping out a little." Dad took a piece of lettuce with some dressing on it before Jo playfully shooed him out of the kitchen.  
  
The next day arrived, and finally Lizzie was no longer grounded from the phone. It was late in the afternoon, and she hoped that Gordo would be home. She rushed upstairs to her bedroom to call him. Just as she was about to punch in the last number, she heard Sam call from downstairs.  
  
"Family meeting!"  
  
"Ugh!" Lizzie said, and went back down the steps to the living room. She sat down, along with Matt, and her mom and dad.  
  
Jo was looking very happy, and Sam smiled at her. "We have an important announcement to make."  
  
"One we think you will like." Jo added, and smiled back at her husband.  
  
Toon Lizzie: What's up with all of this smiling?!  
  
"Talk to me." Matt said, putting a hand on his chin. Sam looked at Jo, and she nodded.

"Your mother is going to have a baby."  
  
Lizzie and Matt's mouths opened into big 'O's, and stayed like that for at least a minute before anyone said anything.  
  
"_What_?!" Matt exclaimed.  
  
"Yes, honey. Isn't it wonderful?" Jo replied, still smiling as if they were no tomorrow.  
  
Toon Lizzie: Wonderful? _Wonderful?!_  
  
"Mom... no offense or anything. But aren't you, you know, a little old to... be having a baby?" Lizzie said, trying to be kind about it.

Toon Lizzie: This is going to be so embarrassing!   
  
"Oh Lizzie, of course not. I know a lot of women my age who have had children." Jo told her.  
  
"But... but... I don't want another sibling!" Lizzie said, still in shock and not knowing what else to say. "Matt's bad enough!"


	9. Off To The Library

Sorry guys, I can't believe I did it again! What is it with me and strawberries? Lol. I put them in chapter 8 without even thinking!! Anyways, here is chapter 9:

* * *

"Is it going to be a boy or a girl?" Matt asked. He was started to get excited. If it was a boy, he could teach him things like pranks to play on Lizzie!  
  
"Well, I'm going to the doctor's tomorrow. We'll find out!" Jo said excitedly.  
  
Lizzie started thinking. Maybe it _would_ be nice to have another sibling around, especially if it was a girl. I could pick out little outfits for her, and dress her up! She'd be so cute in one of those frilly, little white dresses with the pink butterflies...  
  
"Lizzie, I think you'll like it after a while." Jo told her daughter, trying to convince her to like her surprise.  
  
"And you'll get paid for babysitting!" Dad added.  
  
Toon Lizzie: Money? I'll go for that!  
  
"Maybe I will like it!" Lizzie said, now warning up to the idea. Matt nodded.  
  
"But I do have one question." Lizzie said. "Where is this baby going to sleep?"  
  
Sam and Jo looked at each other. This thought had not yet occurred to them. "Well...um..." Sam said, thinking.  
  
"It's not going in my room!" Matt exclaimed.  
  
"Well don't think about _mine_!" Lizzie told him.  
  
"Well, Lizzie, your room_ is_ a little bit bigger than Matt's." Jo told her.  
  
Toon Lizzie: I don't like where this is going!  
  
"I need my space, Mom! My room is where I think and relax! Not a nursery for a baby!" Lizzie told her.  
  
Sam and Jo looked at Matt. "No way!" Matt exclaimed. "I like my room just the way it is, thank you very much!"  
  
"If it goes in our room, we may never be able to get a decent night sleep again!" Jo told Sam.  
  
"Maybe we could add a room onto the house." Lizzie suggested. "While you guys think about it, I'm going to be talking to my friends on the phone." She went back up to her room, now forgetting all about talking to Gordo alone. She dialed Miranda's number.  
  
"Hello?" Lizzie heard Miranda say into the phone.  
  
"This is Lizzie! I have big news!" She squealed.  
  
"So do I!" Miranda squealed back.  
  
"Hold on. Let me get Gordo on, too." Lizzie told her, and dialed in his number.  
  
Toon Lizzie: Three-way calling is so convenient!

"Hi, Lizzie." Gordo said. "We, uh, got caller ID."  
  
"Cool!" Lizzie replied, smiling. "Miranda's on the line, too."  
  
"Oh." Gordo said. _Why does something always happen just when I think Lizzie and are alone?_ He thought, annoyed.  
  
"Guess what?" Miranda asked them. She was so excited that she didn't wait for them to answer. "I'm going on another date with Ethan tomorrow!" She exclaimed.  
  
"Wow! The movies must have gone really well!" Lizzie replied, excited for Miranda.  
  
"It did! We shared a soda, and-!" Miranda started to say to Lizzie.

"Should I just hang up now?" Gordo said, bored of all this talk of Ethan.  
  
"Gordo, can't you just be patient at least once?" Lizzie said, rolling her eyes. "Look, Miranda, we'll talk more about it some other time soon, okay?."  
  
"Okay, okay." Miranda agreed with a sigh.  
  
"So is anyone going to try to guess what my news is?" Lizzie asked them.  
  
"Well, is it good or bad?" Gordo replied, tossing a hackysack from one foot to the other. He kicked it up in the air, spun around, and caught it on the other foot.  
  
"Well... I guess it just depends on how you look at it. I'm more excited now, than when I first heard about it." Lizzie told him.  
  
"I'm stumped Lizzie! Just tell us!" Miranda said with a grin.  
  
"Well, okay." Lizzie took a breath. My mom... is going to have a baby." Lizzie said, not knowing what her friends would say next.  
  
Silence.  
  
Toon Lizzie: Okay, this really is embarrassing! They probably are thinking what I thought at first.  
  
"Wow!" Gordo exclaimed, not knowing what else to say. For some reason, he had just never thought of the McGuire's having another child. "I don't know what to say. I mean, I guess that's cool!" _Although Lizzie will probably have to stay home a lot now and help out, so I won't be able to see her that much._ He thought to himself.  
  
"I think it will be fun for you!" Miranda said. "You'll get to go baby-shopping, and pick out a ton of cute clothes and stuff!"  
  
"What is it going to be named?" Gordo asked, curious.  
  
"We haven't thought of any names yet. Besides, we don't know if it's a girl or boy until my mom gets back from the doctor tomorrow." Lizzie told them. "My parents are still deciding on where it's going to sleep. If it ends up in my room, I think I'll move out!"

"Yeah, they're really loud. I had to babysit my cousin once, and it was a nightmare!" Gordo replied.

Toon Lizzie: Does that mean he would never want kids when he gets married? Because I want at least a few! Wait... am I saying I want to marry Gordo when I'm older?!  
  
"Hey guys, sorry to interrupt, but my mom just called me from downstairs. I forgot that I was on dish-washing duties today." Miranda told them. "Tell your mom congratulations for me!"  
  
"Okay, talk to you later!" Lizzie said.  
  
"So Lizzie, all ready for tomorrow's English test?" Gordo asked her, not wanting to get on the subject of Lizzie wanting to know what had been bothering him.  
  
"Oh no. I completely forgot about that!" Lizzie said, looking worriedly at the English notes on her desk, that she should have been studying.  
  
"We could study together at the Digital Bean." Gordo suggested, hoping to spend some time with her.  
  
"Well..." She said hesitantly. "I'm kind of creeped out about what happened the last time we studied there."  
  
"Yeah, I know what you mean. We could go to the library. It's quieter in there, anyways." Gordo persisted.  
  
"Okay, I'll meet you there!" Lizzie said, happy that her studying problems were solved.  
  
They hung up. _Now if only I can work up the courage to share my feelings with her!_ He thought nervously, and got ready to go.


	10. A Sort Of Date?

Lizzie looked around the library to find Gordo. After a few minutes of searching, she got a drink of water from the water fountain. It was warm. Lizzie swallowed it, with a frown. It tasted bad, too. She popped a Tic Tac into her mouth to get the taste out.  
  
Then she saw Gordo walk in the doors of the library. She waved to him. He saw her, smiled, and walked over.  
  
"Hi Lizzie." He said, and they walked over to a table with chairs. They sat down, and Lizzie took her notes out of her purse. Gordo had brought his too. "How about we study like this: We each study three of the cards, and then we switch them and quiz each other. Then we do the next three cards, and so forth." He suggested.  
  
"Okay." Lizzie agreed, and picked up three of her cards. But neither one was thinking much about what was written on their notes. They had other things on their minds.  
  
Maybe I shouldn't mention anything. I mean, maybe I'm not even ready for things to get really serious between us. Gordo thought to himself.  
  
If he really does like me, I should at least tell him something. Lizzie thought nervously.  
  
"Gordo, I have something I need to say to you." Lizzie said suddenly.  
  
"Okay." He said. Somehow, he could just sense that it wasn't bad.  
  
"I um... I don't have a thing for Ethan anymore." She stated simply.  
  
"Really?" He asked, surprised.  
  
She nodded. "And it's not just because Miranda likes him a lot. But I've felt this way for a while now. I just don't think he's right for me."  
  
Gordo smiled. "I think you're great to realize that. Most girls would ignore that feeling and just keep thinking he's the one, just because of his looks. I respect you, Lizzie."  
  
Lizzie smiled, feeling so happy that she'd thought she'd burst any moment.  
  
Toon Lizzie: I suddenly feel like Scarlet in Gone With the Wind. (A hoop skirt and fancy jewelry appears on her) I mean, she was always looking after another guy, when a different guy was actually right for her.  
  
"Say... how about we go get some ice cream or something? Suddenly, I'm not in the study-mode anymore."  
  
"Sounds good to me." Lizzie told him, grinning.  
  
Toon Lizzie: The old Gordo is back! He doesn't seem all that jittery, and things don't feel at all tense between us.  
  
They went to the mall, and found a new place called Ronnie's Ice Cream Hut. The name stuck out like a sore thumb to Lizzie, bringing back bad memories. It wasn't actually the same Ronnie, but Lizzie still didn't feel like going in there. "Gordo, how about we find another place to go?" She asked.  
  
He nodded, completely understanding. They found another place named Paris Palace. It was a little bit more expensive, but Gordo offered to pay. Lizzie thanked him, and they each ordered they're ice cream.  
  
"So Gordo, we never really did talk all that much about your time at Video Camp. Did you make any cool movies?" Lizzie asked him.  
  
Gordo had actually recorded a play about a guy who secretly loved his best friend, but he didn't want to say that. "Well... I did make one. But it wasn't that big of a hit." He said. That was true. Only a few people watched it.  
  
"Oh. I'm sorry." Lizzie replied. A waitress brought over their ice creams. She looked at them and smiled.  
  
Toon Lizzie: Like she's never seen two best friends eat together! (Eats a big spoonful of ice cream)  
  
There was an awkward silence when she left. "Um... so, have your parents decided what room the baby's going to sleep in yet?" Gordo asked, trying to make conversation.  
  
"Oh yeah. I forgot to tell you. We're adding a new room onto the house!" Lizzie told him. Before she'd left to go the library with him, Jo had told her. She was so happy the baby wasn't going in her room!  
  
"Oh, that's cool." Gordo said. Lizzie nodded. From there, neither one could seem to think of much to say.  
  
Toon Lizzie: This is so silly! We've always found tons to talk about.  
  
Just then, Lizzie saw Miranda and Ethan walk into the Paris Palace! "Look, Gordo!" She whispered. Gordo saw them and smiled. They did actually look good together.  
  
Miranda saw them and gave them an excited wave. Lizzie could tell she was having the time of her life. They walked over. "Hey Lizzie, Gordon." Ethan said.  
  
Ethan sat down a few tables away from Lizzie and Gordo. Miranda excused herself, and walked over to them.  
  
"Hi Miranda!" Lizzie said. "What have you been up to?"  
  
"Oh, just looking around with Ethan." Miranda told her. "But you'll never guess who we ran into!" Miranda exclaimed.  
  
"Who?" Lizzie asked.  
  
"Kate! She was looking really miserable, so I went over and talked to her." Miranda told her. "She didn't even try to act like a snob. She told me Claire and the other cheerleaders at the new school dumped her from the cheer squad at her new school, because she's been hanging around Larry Tudgemen!"  
  
"Larry?! Why?"  
  
"He actually doesn't look that much like a geek anymore. He's actually kind of cute now!" Miranda replied. Larry had also been going to a different school this year. He'd won a scholarship to go.  
  
Toon Lizzie: Larry Tudgemen cute? I'll have to see it to believe it! Though he did surprise me when we went on a date...  
  
"That's got to be hard on Kate. One minute popular, and the next... just a nobody." Lizzie said, still finding it a little hard to believe that Kate would like Larry.  
  
"Yeah, but that's not all. Her dad lost his job, and now she can't afford to go to her school. She's going to be go to the one we're going at!" Miranda said.  
  
"Uh, still here you guys." Gordo told them, feeling a little left out that Lizzie was so open to Miranda.  
  
"Sorry Gordo." Miranda said. She heard Ethan calling her that they're food was at the table. "Oh, got to go you guys. Bye." She said, and scurried back over to her table.  
  
After Gordo and Lizzie finished their ice cream, Gordo walked Lizzie home. "Thanks for the ice cream, Gordo." She told him.  
  
"No problem." He replied, his heart beating fast. "So, um, you want to... do something like this again soon?"  
  
"Sure." Lizzie said.  
  
Toon Lizzie: It's not really a date... at least I don't think it is. 


	11. Kate Stops By

Hey guys. Sorry, the italics didn't work in the last chapter. So if it doesn't work in this one, I give me apologies in advance!  
  
The next day, Jo came back from the doctor's. It was afternoon, and Lizzie and was back from school.  
  
Jo was smiling broadly when she got home, and she called everyone downstairs to tell them the news.  
  
_Please say it's a boy!_ Matt thought hopefully as he sat down on the couch with an apple in his hand. He munched on it loudly.  
  
_Please say it's a girl!_ Lizzie thought to herself as she tried to ignore Matt. She watched Jo's face. _If I only knew which one she wanted, then I'd know what it is because she looks so happy!_  
  
"Is it a boy?" Matt asked, crossing his fingers.  
  
"Well..." Jo started to say.  
  
"Then it's a girl!" Lizzie exclaimed in excitement.  
  
"Well..." Jo tried to say again.  
  
"How can it be neither?!" Sam asked impatiently. Matt stopped crunching as he waited anxiously.  
  
"Actually... it's both." Jo said, watching the expressions on her family's faces.  
  
"Both?" Lizzie asked in surprise.  
  
Toon Lizzie: As in two? As in more than _one_ baby?!  
  
"Yes. It's twins!" Jo squealed excitedly. Sam leaned back in his chair in awe. _Twins!  
_  
Matt didn't know what to think at first. _Well... I guess it's a good thing. With Lizzie babysitting both of them while Mom and Dad go places, she won't even notice Lanny and I doing stuff we're not aloud to do!_  
  
"I've got to call Gordo!" Lizzie exclaimed. Then she added "And... Miranda too." She gave a nervous chuckle. She dashed up to her room and called them.  
  
"Hey Lizzie." Gordo said into his phone.  
  
"What's up?" Miranda asked.  
  
"Guess what!" Lizzie nearly shouted into the phone. She answered without waiting for them to respond. "My mom's having twins!"  
  
"Wow!" Miranda said, already planning to come over often to see two cute little babies.  
  
"Wow." Gordo echoed. Now I'll get to spend even less time with her. She'll be too buys helping out with her siblings. He tried to hide his disappointment. "So what are they going to be?"  
  
"A boy and a girl!" Lizzie told them. "And I already know what I want to name them. Miranda and Gordo!" She laughed. "Just kidding."  
  
"So how's your mom feeling?" Miranda asked.  
  
"Pretty good. She doesn't seem to be in any pain yet." Lizzie replied. She'd gotten over the fact that she thought Jo was a bit old to be having them.  
  
Toon Lizzie: I mean, come _on._ I should be happy for her, not telling her she'd old!  
  
"You guys want to come over? I want to show you some stuff my mom picked out in some catalogs for the nursery. It's _adorable_." Lizzie squealed.  
  
"Sure." Gordo told her, happy to be able to get to be around her again. And now they could plan a day to do something together again!  
  
"Okay, I'll be right over!" Miranda replied.  
  
"Good, see you then!" Lizzie said, glad that she could do something with Miranda again. They'd both been too busy for each other lately.  
  
They arrived about 15 minutes later. Lizzie rushed to get the door when they knocked. "I'll get it!" She shouted. Matt beat her to it.  
  
"Hello. Lizzie's been expecting _you_." He told them, looking right at Gordo with a mischievous grin. Just then Lizzie appeared in the doorway and shoved Matt out of the way.  
  
Matt had gotten suspicious lately that Lizzie liked him, and made a kiss sounds before Lizzie threatened to squash him like a bug if he didn't leave them alone.  
  
"Come on in guys!" She said, pushing a strand of her hair behind her ear. She really did want to squash Matt. She wasn't even sure whether she really did like Gordo yet or not! Why give Gordo ideas that might not even be true?  
  
Toon Lizzie: All these emotions are too confusing! Why can't we just stay best friends like we've always been?   
  
Gordo looked puzzled. Was it true what Matt had said?

Toon Lizzie: But then again... what if I don't want it that way?  
  
Lizzie sighed, and tried not to think about these things. Right now she just wanted to spend time with her two best friends and have fun. "Let's go up to my room where we can be away from him." Lizzie told her guests as she glared at Matt from where he was standing near the stairs.  
  
He stuck his tongue at them, and tried to think of a new plan to annoy Lizzie. Someone knocked on the door again, interrupting Matt's thoughts. He opened it, and saw Kate standing in the doorway.  
  
"Kate?!" He said rudely.  
  
"Yes, it's me." She replied looking annoyed at Matt.  
  
"Hey Lizzie!" He called. "Snob-face is here!"  
  
Jo, who had just walked into the room, gave Matt a stern look. "Matt, that extremely rude! Go up to your room!" Jo turned to Kate. "I'm sorry." She apologized.  
  
"It's okay." Kate said. She was looking a little glum because of everything that had been going on in her life. "My mom made... uh... I mean, I wanted to give this to you. I heard about the baby." She said, and handed Jo a card that said "congrats on your bundle of joy".  
  
"Oh, that's so sweet, Kate." Jo said. "You know, you should come visit Lizzie more often. I haven't seen you since you and Lizzie were working on that project together."  
  
Just then, Lizzie came downstairs. Snob-face? Surely Matt didn't mean Kate. She would never come here unless she absolutely had to! Lizzie thought in bewilderment.

She saw Kate standing there, and just stared, in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Lizzie, she was being very polite and brought me a nice card. Don't be rude to her!" Jo told her.  
  
Kate wasn't sure what to say. She did like Lizzie, and what was the point of trying to hide it now? She wasn't popular, and Claire and the others on her old cheer squad wouldn't be around to tease her. "Maybe I will come again sometime." She told Jo. "Well... I promised my mom I'd be home soon."  
  
"Bye Kate." Jo said, and closed the door after she left. "What has gotten into you and Matt? Treating Kate like that." She lectured Lizzie once she'd closed the front door.  
  
"Mom, you don't know how Kate acts when she's not around you!" Lizzie protested. "And what did she mean by 'Maybe I will come sometime'?"  
  
"I don't care how you think she acts. That's no way to treat a person." Jo replied. "And I suggested that she come back soon. I think she's a nice girl at heart."  
  
Toon Lizzie: Well... she is going through a rough time... I guess I can deal with her her for one afternoon... I think.


	12. Shopping

Sorr if this chapter is a little dull, but I'm not in that much of a creative mood! I'll try and make the next one a little better!

* * *

Lizzie went back up to her room. "Sorry about that guys. Can you believe Kate came here and gave a congratulations card to my mom?"  
  
"No way." Gordo replied, with his eyebrows raised. "Are you sure it wasn't a trick? Maybe she sprayed some perfume that your allergic to in it or something?"  
  
"Gordo, she gave it to my mom, not me!" Lizzie told him, rolling her eyes. "And since when am I allergic to perfume?"  
  
"I don't know. I just don't think that Kate would actually be that nice." Gordo said with a shrug.  
  
After they were done looking at Lizzie's parent's ideas for the nursery, Miranda suggested they go to the mall. "I saw these really, really cute pair of jeans at the Style Shack!"  
  
"Oh no. Not that again." Lizzie groaned.  
  
"No, really! They're not as expensive as the last ones you bought there. And that would give us more time to talk about my time with Ethan! We never did get to talk much about it." Miranda replied, taking a sip of the soda Lizzie had poured for her.  
  
Gordo sighed under his breath. _Why do I even bother to come along? Whenever they're together, it seems like they're always talking about girl stuff and completely leaving me out._ Gordo thought almost angrily_. I am so tired of it!_  
  
"Gordo, what's with the scowling?" Lizzie asked him.  
  
He hasn't even realized he'd been scowling. "Um... nothing." He said, and then felt like smacking himself. _Why didn't you just tell them? If they're really my best friends, they'll understand!_  
  
"Okay..." Lizzie said, not really believing him. They all started putting their shoes on to go to the mall. Lizzie took her jean purse with fades on it from her closet, and gave her hair a quick brush through. "I think we're all ready!" Gordo and Miranda nodded.  
  
Lizzie looked at the jeans in the Style Shack window, the tag on them read, $55.99. "That's still a little pricey to pay for jeans." Lizzie said.  
  
"Well don't ask me for any money. The last time you did, you ruined the jeans!" Gordo told her.  
  
"Gordo, you know that wasn't my fault!" Lizzie insisted.  
  
Lizzie sighed. The jeans _were_ really cute... "Well, I'll at least try them on in the dressing room. Just to see how they look."

They went inside the Style Shack, and the clerk took them from the window and handed them to Lizzie.  
  
"Thank you!" Lizzie told her, and scurried to a dressing room. She put them on, and looked at herself in the full-length mirror.  
  
Toon Lizzie: These look so good on me! I just have to get them!  
  
She came out of the dressing room, and Miranda and Gordo were waiting for her. "Wow, those look awesome!" Miranda said, looking longingly at them. _Why didn't_ I_ buy them? She thought to herself._  
  
"What do you think, Gordo?" Lizzie asked, wanting another opinion just to make sure.  
  
"You look good in anything, Lizzie." He said smiling.  
  
"Maybe I _should _buy them." Lizzie said, still looking at them happily.  
  
"You know, if we split the cost, we could share them!" Miranda said suddenly. "We _do _wear the same size."  
  
Toon Lizzie: Hey, I thought we were talking about _me_ here!  
  
"And you did say that they're a little to expensive for you." Miranda continued.  
  
"You want them now, don't you?" Lizzie replied with a laugh. "Fine, we'll share."  
  
"Great!" Miranda told her, and pulled her wallet out of her purse. They walked up to the register, and paid for the jeans.  
  
They walked out of the Style Shack. "Where to now?" Gordo asked the girls. They looked around.  
  
"Hey, how about the video rental shop? We could rent a movie to watch when we get back Lizzie's." Miranda suggested, already imagining eating buttery popcorn while watching a movie late at night.  
  
"That's a good idea. But I just spent the last of my money on those jeans. Can I pay someone my share when I get some more cash?" Lizzie asked them.  
  
"I'm broke now too." Miranda said, looking through her purse to make sure she didn't have any extra loose change. They both looked at Gordo.  
  
"Okay, okay. I'll pay. But I get to pick the movie!" Gordo replied, and they walked into the store. They looked around.  
  
"Oh, this one looks good." Lizzie said, showing them a romance.  
  
"Nah, too boring. You've seen one romance, you've seen 'em all." Gordo replied.

Toon Lizzie: (Puts hands on hips) Not true!

He picked up a movie about an earthquake that destroyed five cities. "This looks cool."  
  
Miranda looked at it. "Gordo, that does not look cool. It looks lame! Can't you find something more interesting?"  
  
"Oh, alright." He said reluctantly. He picked up Cheaper By the Dozen. "Hey, we never did see this in the theaters. I had amnesia then." He told them.  
  
"Looks good to me. Let's get it!" Lizzie replied. Gordo paid for it, and they called Jo to tell her that they were ready to be picked up. While they were waiting for them to come, Lizzie and Miranda talked about Miranda's date with Ethan.  
  
Gordo, in the mean time, went to a store with video cameras and other electronics, not wanting to hear about Ethan. _At least Lizzie doesn't like him anymore. That's a start._ Gordo thought to himself.  
  
He then thought with a frown that Lizzie and him hadn't planned another time to something together. He tried to think of ideas to suggest to her if they got to talk alone that day. _Ice-skating? That's fun. But there are a lot of people around us, so we wouldn't really be alone. But then again, if we are alone, Lizzie might think of it as a date and not want to come. Maybe ice- skating is my best bet._  
  
Miranda snapped him out of his thoughts. "Gordo, Mrs. McGuire is here!" She called to him from outside the electronics store.  
  
"Okay!" Gordo called back. Once they were all back at the McGuire's, they found that construction people were there, working on the new room.  
  
They watched for a few minutes, but then stopped. It was kind of boring to see. But Matt thought just the opposite. He was enthralled by it.  
  
The construction workers even let him hammer away part of the old wall with a sledgehammer, until Jo came in and told him to stop because she didn't want him to accidentally get hurt.

"I never get to do anything fun!" Matt complained. Just then, he hit his foot on a hammer. "Ow." He said, rubbing his foot.

"See what I mean, Matt? Just let them be so they can get their work done." Jo said. She decided to look in the fridge for a snack. Just when she was about to open the door, she heard a scream from upstairs.


	13. Looking For Matt

"This time I really am going to squash you, Matt!" Jo heard Lizzie scream from upstairs, who was now covered in pink foam.  
  
Matt, who was trying to look for a place to hide from Lizzie, spotted the fireplace. "Aha!" He said with a grin.  
  
Meanwhile, Jo had gone upstairs to see what was wrong. She opened the door to Lizzie's room and found her flicking foam off of her saying, "Get it off me! Get it off me!"  
  
Jo brought her into the bathroom, where she wet a towel and gave it to Lizzie to wipe herself off with. "Mom, Matt had better get punished for this!" Lizzie told her angrily. "These are our brand new jeans!"  
  
"Our?" Jo asked, puzzled.  
  
"They're Miranda's and mine because we both split the cost. There was only one pair of them, and we both wanted them. So we were going to share them." Lizzie explained. "And now because of Matt, they're ruined!"  
  
As Jo asked Lizzie try to get off all of the foam, she asked, "What did Matt do?"  
  
"I don't know! But as soon as I pushed the 'ON' button on my remote, foam sprayed all over me instead of turning on the TV!" Lizzie told her angrily.

Matt had rigged Lizzie's remote to turn on a battery-powered toy car to come out from under her bed, and spray foam up right where he measured Lizzie would be standing.  
  
Miranda and Gordo had volunteered to clean up the floor in Lizzie's room. _All this time, I've been thinking of myself. I keep wanting Lizzie, Lizzie, Lizzie. _Gordo thought while he was cleaning._ But I don't want Miranda to feel left out if I ask Lizzie to go skating with me and not her. She is one of my best friends. Maybe I should tell her. But what if she gets mad or something?_  
  
"Gordo, is something wrong? You looked confused." Miranda asked him.  
  
"Well of course I'm confused!" Gordo exclaimed. _Oops... I didn't mean for that to actually come out._ He thought embarrassedly.  
  
Miranda took a deep breath. "Gordo, ever since you came back from video camp, you've seemed to act different to me." Miranda said, finally getting out what she wanted to say to him. "And I want to know if something's bothering you." She said.  
  
"Bothering me? Why would... anything bother me?" He replied with a nervous chuckle.  
  
"Gordo, stop lying and tell me what your problem is! We're best friends, and if there's something wrong, I want to help you." Miranda told him.  
  
_Yeah, but will you try to help me out by telling Lizzie? The last thing I want is for Lizzie to know. Or do I?_ Gordo thought to himself.  
  
Just then, Lizzie came back into her room. "Thank goodness, I'm foam free." She told them.

"We'll talk later." Miranda mouthed to Gordo while Lizzie had her head turned away. Gordo sighed. How was he going to get out of this one?

"Have you two seen Matt?" She asked, really upset about the jeans.  
  
"Uh... no. My guess is that he's somewhere very far away from you, trying to hide so that he will get neither punished or 'squashed'." Gordo replied.  
  
"Well in the end, he's going to get one of those, if not both!" Lizzie said. "I'm going downstairs to look for him."  
  
"We'll help you look!" Gordo said, mopping up the last of the foam. They all headed downstairs. Just when they were on their last step, they heard the doorbell ring.  
  
"I'll get it." Lizzie told them, and walked over to the front door. She looked out the window, and groaned. "Guys, it's Kate." She whispered. She opened the door. "Uh, hi... Kate." Lizzie said.  
  
"Hi Lizzie. You're mom said I could come over sometime... would this be an okay time?" She asked Lizzie, hoping she'd say yes. She didn't care about her pride now._ I don't care if Lizzie's kind of dorky. I have no friends besides Tudgemen. He's okay now, but I don't have any girls to talk to. She thought miserably.  
_  
"Uh... I don't know." Lizzie replied, looking at Miranda and Gordo. They shrugged. "I'll go ask my mom."  
  
She walked to the living room, where she found Jo lying on the couch. She was eating watermelon with ice cream on top of it., with cheese sprinkles on top of the ice cream.  
  
Toon Lizzie: Okay, I know women sometimes get cravings for weird foods when they're pregnant, but this has got to be _the_ weirdest!  
  
"Uh... hi Mom." Lizzie said, still eyeing the strange combination of food.  
  
"Hey, Lizzie." Jo replied. "What's up?"  
  
"Well, Kate's here. She wants to know if now is a good time to come over." Lizzie told her, hoping she'd say no.  
  
Toon Lizzie: If Kate wants to be friends again, that's fine. But right now I'm trying to find Matt, so I can pulverize him! (Stomps foot)  
  
"Sure sweetie. She can even stay for dinner if she'd like to." Jo said. She wanted to get used to having more kids around, so she would be prepared for the twins.  
  
"Okay." Lizzie said, trying to hide her disappointment. She walked back to the front door where Kate was waiting for her. "My mom says it's fine." She told her, purposely not mentioning the part about staying for dinner.  
  
"Great." Kate said.  
  
Gordo was eyeing her suspiciously, just in case this was a trick.  
  
"What are you staring at, Gor-dork?" Kate immediately clamped her hand over her mouth. "Sorry. I'm so used to being mean to Lizzie and her friends." She told him.  
  
After a moment of thinking, Gordo finally said, "It's okay." He didn't want to start trusting her until he knew for sure.   
  
"Want to help me find my pesky brother? Because when we do, we're going to turn the tables around and think of an evil plan for him!" Lizzie told Kate.  
  
"Sure! When I was a child, I was a hide-and-seek champion." She replied with a toss of her hair.  
  
"If we split up, we'll find him faster." Miranda said, ignoring Kate's boastfulness.

Matt, who had hid partially in the chimney and partially behind the screen of the fireplace, was trying not to cough. It smelled really bad in there, and he wanted to get out!

He suddenly had to sneeze, but stopped it just in time. _How am I going to gt out of here? What was I thinking?!  
_  
Gordo looked under beds, Miranda looked behind furniture, Lizzie looked outside, and Kate was looking in other places, like under the table and behind shower curtains. None of them could find him.

_I wish Lanny was over right now. He could help me to try and help sneak out! Matt thought while trying to swallow a cough. _  
  
"Come out, you little worm!" Lizzie yelled from outside. She sighed. Miranda, Gordo, and Kate were all also getting tired of looking.  
  
Toon Lizzie: I don't care how long it takes me to find him. And when I do, he is _so_ going to pay for those pants!


	14. Everybody Out!

Suddenly Kate heard a sneeze. She turned her head, and eyed the fireplace suspiciously. She crept up to it. "Come on out. I know you're in there."  
  
"Aah!" Matt yelled, scared and now filling with fear because someone had found him. "I beg of you for mercy!" He cried out, thinking it was Lizzie standing there.  
  
"I don't know what you did to Lizzie, but she's really mad at you. You may as well come on out of there." Kate replied, with her arms crossed.  
  
_I don't know who it is, but they sound like they mean_ business. He thought to himself. Matt kicked the screen away from the fireplace, and tried to crawl out. His foot was caught on something that he couldn't see, because it was so dark in the fireplace. "I'm stuck!" He said.  
  
"What?!"  
  
"I'm stuck, I said! I can't get out!" Matt exclaimed, furiously trying to get out.  
  
_ I so do not want to help Lizzie's brat brother. I'll go get her to get her brother out._ Kate thought stubbornly to herself, and left the room to go get Lizzie.  
  
"Hey! Where did you go.... whoever you were?!" Matt asked. Jo had left the living room before Kate had found Matt, so she had no idea that he was in the fireplace.  
  
She'd been upstairs, getting the towel Lizzie had used to put in the laundry. Now she was back downstairs, and heard muffled screams from the living room. "What in the world?" She asked herself.  
  
She walked into the living room, and listened for the noise again,  
  
"Somebody help me, will you?" Matt screamed again. He tried to free his foot from whatever it was caught on, but it wouldn't budge.  
  
"Matt are you in there?" Jo asked, trying to look in the fireplace. Just then Lizzie came storming back into the house, along with Kate, Miranda, and Gordo.  
  
"Matt, we know where you are, and you can't escape this time!" Lizzie yelled. "Those jeans were expensive!"  
  
Toon Lizzie: Come out with your hands up! You have the right to remain silent!  
  
"Don't forget, I helped pay for those, too!" Miranda added.  
  
Gordo was silent. He was still thinking about his problem. _Should I tell Miranda how I feel about Lizzie? Can I trust her not to tell Lizzie? Or maybe I want Lizzie to know. This is all to confusing. Usually I can talk to my friends about my troubles, but now what can I do?_ He sat silently on the couch.  
  
"Okay, okay already. Just get me out of here! I'm stuck!" Matt said. Jo bent over to try and pull him out, but then quickly stood up.  
  
"Ohhh... I need to sit down." She said, holding onto her stomach. She plopped down next to Gordo. "Can someone else please pull Matt out?"  
  
Just then, the construction crew walked into the room. "We'll be back soon. We need to go get some more supplies." They told Jo. Jo nodded.  
  
"I'll get Matt out." Gordo volunteered. "Give me your hands, Matt. I'll try and pull you out." Matt did, but his foot remained stuck. "Try to take off your shoe." Gordo told him.  
  
He tried, and finally did. Gordo helped him, and when he was out, he was covered in dark gray soot. "I'll go wash off." Matt said.  
  
"You can try to run, but I'm going to catch you!" Lizzie yelled, running after him. Matt rushed upstairs, into the bathroom, slammed the door shut, and locked it. Breathing hard, he decided that taking a shower would be the best way to rinse off al the soot. He turned on the water faucet in the bathtub.  
  
"We'll be waiting for you. There's no escape!" Miranda yelled into the bathroom, who had also followed Lizzie.  
  
Gordo was walking up the stairs, rolling his eyes. How can girls get so upset over a pair of jeans? He thought.  
  
Meanwhile, Jo was downstairs, listening to all the racket going on upstairs. Sam came home from work, and Jo pointed upstairs. "Please take care of whatever's going on up there." She told him with a tired sigh.  
  
"Hi, I'm good, thanks." He muttered under his breath. He'd had a hard day at work, and the last thing he needed was a bunch of kids to yell at.

"I heard that." Jo mumbled.  
  
Kate had now also joined the others upstairs, but all she did was stand there with her arms crossed. _I thought coming to Lizzie's would be better than this. I thought we'd give each other makeovers or something, but Lizzie's too involved with her other friends and her brother. Maybe it was a bad idea to come over._ Kate thought with a sigh.  
  
Gordo was also in deep thought, still thinking what to do about his problem. He looked up at Kate. _She's not really my friend... but then on the other hand she's someone I might could talk to. She doesn't seem all stuck- up now that's she's no longer popular._ He took a deep breath. "Hey, Kate, could I talk to you for a minute?"  
  
"Um, okay." Kate replied. "We'll be right back, you guys." She told the others, who barely even paid attention. While they walked downstairs, Sam was walking up them.  
  
He reached the top, and looked at everyone who was screaming or shouting or pounding on the bathroom door. "I want everyone to be quiet, and then go home!" He yelled above the noise. Miranda, Lizzie, and Matt all stopped what they were doing. Rarely did Sam ever get this angry. "I don't want to hear a peep out of anyone!"  
  
Miranda embarrassedly put her shoes on, and Lizzie walked her to the door. "I'll give you your share of the money for the jeans at school" She whispered. Miranda nodded, and left.  
  
Now it was Lizzie's turn to be embarrassed. Never had her dad made her friends leave because they'd been too noisy. _I was acting so immature! I'm in high school now. I've got to start acting like it!_ Lizzie thought to herself. She saw Gordo and Kate talking quietly in the kitchen. She walked over to them. "Hey guys my-"  
  
Gordo whirled around. "How long have you been there?" He asked Lizzie, hoping she hadn't heard anything he'd said. Him and Kate had had their backs turned towards Lizzie, so they didn't know she'd been there.  
  
"I just got here." She said, raising an eyebrow. "Um, my dad wants you guys to leave early. Sorry." Lizzie told them.  
  
"Okay." Gordo replied. Now he could talk with Kate without being interrupted. She actually seems to trying to be nice to me. Maybe she can give me some advice. He thought, and waved good-bye to Lizzie.  
  
"Thanks for having me over, Mrs. McGuire!" Kate said to Jo, and her and Gordo left.  
  
"Any time!" Jo replied with a sigh, not really meaning that. How am I ever going to survive with twins? I can't even handle Lizzie's friends who are in 9th grade! She thought worriedly.


	15. Skating With Gordo

Outside, away from the McGuire's house, Gordo was talking with Kate about his problem. "You see, I really think I like Lizzie. But I'm afraid that if I tell her that, because I'm afraid that she'll say she doesn't feel the same way."  
  
"So you don't want to get your feelings hurt?" Kate asked, filing a nail.  
  
"Well, I can handle that I guess. I just... I don't know. And now Miranda wants me to tell her "what's been bothering me". I don't want to tell her. She might tell Lizzie." Gordo explained. But then again, I might want her to know in the first place."  
  
"You know what your problem is?" Kate asked him, still filing.  
  
"What?" He replied.  
  
"You're confused beyond belief, and you're so confused that no one could help you no matter how long they tried!" Kate exclaimed. "I don't know how Miranda and Lizzie can stand to be around you sometimes."  
  
Gordo frowned. _I'll know never to go to her for help again._ Kate went home, and Gordo went walking around. _Dad did always say a walk does a man good._  
  
Just then, he saw Miranda. He hid behind a tall bush, not wanting to talk with her just yet.  
  
He had to decide what he was going to say. _I know I should trust her not to tell Lizzie... but if she did accidentally tell Lizzie, I'd be so embarrassed. If Lizzie's going to know, I should tell her myself._  
  
Miranda was walked to Ethan's house. She wanted to see if he wanted to do something with her, since she wasn't welcome at Lizzie's house for a while. She knocked on the door, and out stepped Ethan.  
  
"Hey Miranda." He said. "C'mon in. I'm making pizza cookies."  
  
"Pizza cookies?" Miranda said with a raised eyebrow, trying not to laugh.  
  
"Yeah, they're really good!" Ethan replied. Gordo rolled his eyes and chuckled as he walked away, now that Miranda was inside and could no longer see him.  
  
He decided to go home and see if Lizzie was on instant messenger. He opened the door to his house, and went to his room.  
  
He was about to turn on his computer, when he began to decide against it. _I can't just tell her on-line. I need to talk with her face to face!_ He thought to himself. Just then, he heard a knock at the door. He looked up, and saw Lizzie's smiling at him.  
  
"Hi Gordo." Lizzie said. "My mom said I could come here. Dad's talking to Matt about his punishment, and if I hear one more sound of a pounding hammer today, I was going to scream." She rubbed her ear.  
  
"The construction workers came back then, I presume." Gordo replied.  
  
"You guessed it."

Toon Lizzie: I mean, the new room is really starting to come along, and I know it's going to look great. but it's hard to stand all the noise!"

"Maybe I _should _get used to a bunch of noise though, with the twins coming."  
  
Gordo nodded. There was an awkward silence. He came up with an idea. "Say... we never did come up with a day to do something together again. How about ice skating?"  
  
"That sounds fun." Lizzie said, smiling. "I still have some time before I have to go home for dinner. Want to go now?"  
  
"Sure!" Gordo said, a little bit surprised. He'd figured that she'd say something such as, 'Okay, I'll call you when I know a good day to go'.  
  
Toon Lizzie: I'm free! I can be away from the noise for a whole hour! (Does a small dance) Now the only thing that would make this day even better is if Dad makes Matt pay for the jeans.  
  
Gordo let Lizzie borrow a jacket since they knew it'd be cool inside the ice skating rink. It's not exactly a girl's jacket, but it'll do. Lizzie thought to herself, tying it around her waist. They told Mrs. Gordon where they were going, and they left.  
  
Once they got to the rink, they rented a pair of skates, and bought a pass to skate for an hour. They put on their skates, put on their jackets, and stepped out timidly onto the ice. They'd both only gone ice skating once or twice.  
  
Lizzie immediately slipped and fell down. Gordo took her hand and pulled her back up. "You okay?" He asked as Lizzie.  
  
Toon Lizzie: Leave it to me to be the klutz, as usual! (Trips and falls) Ow!  
  
"Yeah." She replied, and they sheepishly let go of each other's hand. Lizzie blushed a little, and brushed a bit of ice off the top of her skates. They looked at each othe at the sametime, and smiled.  
  
A slow song was playing in the background of the rink. They skated around the rink several times, often falling down and helping each other back up.  
  
An hour seemed to pass really quickly, and they went back to the lobby. They gave back the skates they'd rented, and Gordo walked Lizzie home.  
  
"I really had a good time." Lizzie told Gordo.  
  
"Me too. I always do when I'm with you." Gordo replied, and looked down at the ground. "Thanks for going with me."  
  
Lizzie nodded, not knowing really what to say.  
  
Gordo's brain was working overtime, as thoughts ran all through his head. _C'mon, Gordo! This is your chance. She's right here, and you know what you want to say. She won't get mad. Just-  
_  
"I... guess I'll... see you at school tomorrow." Lizzie said, and smiled at him.  
  
"Okay. Uh... bye." He said. Lizzie went inside, and Gordo hit himself hard on the head. He kept doing it, when he heard the door re-open.  
  
Lizzie gave him a strange look, but said nothing about it. "Um, I forgot to give you back your jacket." She said, handing it to him.  
  
"Oh. Thanks." He said, taking it. He gave a nervous smile. Lizzie smiled back and started going back in. "Uh... Lizzie."  
  
She turned back around. "Yeah?"  
  
Toon Lizzie: (Sniffs) Make it fast. I smell supper, and it's not stroganoff! (Looks at a big plate of spaghetti and meatballs) Mmm...  
  
"I... need to tell you something."


	16. Can You Say Emotions?

_There's no backing out of it now, Gordo. You have to tell her. Just say it!_ Gordo thought with sweaty palms.  
  
"Okay." Lizzie said. Gordo looked pretty serious, so she sat down on the front steps. He did the same, and took a deep breath. "Is something wrong?" Lizzie asked him, concerned.  
  
"Well... no." He replied, looking into her anxious face. _But something will be if you say what I think you'll say._ He thought. _Why am I telling her all this in the first place? She will never like me how I like her!_  
  
Lizzie nodded, trying to get him to continue.  
  
"Um..." This is going nowhere! Just make an excuse, rush home, and act like you were never going to say anything in the first place! "It's nothing." He said, and started to get up.  
  
"Gordo, it has to be _something_." Lizzie exclaimed.  
  
Toon Lizzie: Why else would he be all jittery like he was before? I thought he'd started acting normal again!  
  
"I don't think you'd understand." Gordo told her, wanting more than anything just to leave right then.  
  
"Of course I will! Since when have we kept things from each other?" Lizzie insisted.  
_Well... I know I have for like, a really long time!_ Gordo thought miserably. _This is all going the wrong way. If I tell her now, she'll think it's stupid and lame._  
  
"C'mon Gordo. You can tell me. I'll totally understand." She tried again.  
  
"You won't laugh or think I'm stupid?" Gordo asked.  
  
"Why would I? I'm always here for you, no matter what's on your mind. Maybe I can even help you with your problem." Is it your parents?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Is it School?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Miranda?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Then what is it?"  
  
"You." He replied, looking down at the cement, and crossing his fingers when Lizzie wasn't looking.  
  
"Oh my gosh. Did I say something that offended you? Because if I did, I'm totally sorry. I didn't mean it-"  
  
"No!" He almost shouted. "I'm sorry." He apologized, now feeling really dumb. "Maybe it was a bad idea to bring it up in the first place. I should get going."  
  
Toon Lizzie: This is going nowhere! Why can't he just tell me?   
  
"Well... if you decide you want to talk, just give me a call." Lizzie told him. He nodded and left. Lizzie felt lonely. _We've always been able to talk about our problems, so what's the big deal all of a sudden? I wonder if this has anything to do with what Kate told me. Maybe it really is true._  
  
"Lizzie, if you don't eat your supper I will!" Lizzie heard Matt call to her from inside. Lizzie quickly went in, trying not to think about Gordo for a while. She sat down at the table, and saw that everyone else was waiting for her.  
  
"Did you have a good time at Gordo's, Lizzie?" Jo asked her.  
  
Matt made kissy faces, and Lizzie kicked him under the table. "We didn't stay there for long. We went ice skating. It was a blast." She told her mom, hoping she wouldn't think it was a date.  
  
"Sounds like fun. I'm glad you had a good time." Jo replied, eating a mouthful of spaghetti. Lizzie smiled, and ate hers, too. But she couldn't concentrate on her meal. Her thoughts kept going back to Gordo.  
  
After supper, Lizzie retreated to her room, where she sat by her phone. Please ring, please ring! She thought hopefully.  
  
As if on cue, it did. Lizzie excitedly picked it up. "Thanks for calling, Gordo. I knew you would!"  
  
"Uh, Lizzie, it's Miranda." Miranda replied, with a pizza cookie in her hand. It turned out to be a cookie with pepperoni, mushrooms, and sausage pieces on it.  
  
"Oh. Hi." Lizzie said, embarrassed.  
  
"I'm just came back from Ethan's. I had the time of my life!" She squealed, and kissed the cookie. She put it up on a shelf. She didn't actually like the taste of it, but Ethan had made it for her, so she wanted to keep it.  
  
"I'm so happy for you! And I can't believe Kate would let you have him. I mean, Ethan or Tudgemen. Not that hard of a choice!" Lizzie explained. She opened her closet door, looking for an outfit to wear to school the next day.  
  
"I'm telling you, Tudgemen _is_ cute now!" Miranda protested.  
  
"How do you know all of this? He doesn't go to the same school as us." Lizzie replied, picking out a red tank top.  
  
"Kate showed me pictures of him that she carries around in her purse." Miranda said, giggling.  
  
Lizzie giggled too. "Sounds like she's gone head over heels!"  
  
Miranda giggled. "Kate and Tudgemen... I never thought I'd love to see the day when that happened! Speaking of couples... you and Gordo seem to be getting pretty close."  
  
"No way, Miranda. We're just friends! That's the way it's always been." Lizzie told Miranda, picking out a khaki skirt to go with the tank top.  
  
"Yeah, but will it stay that way?" Miranda started giggling loudly. She could imagine Lizzie rolling her eyes at the moment when she didn't say anything. "I think he likes you, and I think you like_ him_."  
  
She took a pair of sandals with red Hawaiian flowers on it to complete the outfit. "Like Gordo? No way!" Lizzie exclaimed. "I already told you I don't when he was dating Brooke."  
  
Toon Lizzie: At least, I think I don't.

"Right... well, I've got to get going. Bye Lizzie."

"Bye." Lizzie hund up and frowned. She need to sort her thoughts out. She took her diary out from it hiding spot, and wrote about her and Gordo.  
  
_Dear Diary,  
  
I really don't think I like Gordo, but why else would I stop liking Ethan? I told Gordo it's not because Miranda's going with him now, and it's not. I also said that I think he's not right for me. But was I trying to say that I thought Gordo is right for me?  
  
Why can't I just make up my mind? Either a person likes someone or they don't! Why is this so hard for me? I have more questions that I do answers.  
  
I think was Kate told me was right. Gordo acts like he likes me, and I bet that's what he was trying to tell me today.  
  
But if he told me, what would I have said? Would I have offended him? Would I say I like him, too? What am I supposed to say if I don't know!_  
  
Lizzie put her purple fuzzy pen down, tired from thinking so much. She sighed, and got changed into her pajamas. Tomorrow she was determined to find out the truth.


	17. Invited

The next day, Lizzie got dressed in the outfit she'd picked out. She brushed her hair, and put lip gloss, a little bit of eye shadow, mascara, and a little bit of blush.  
  
Toon Lizzie: I want to look extra nice for Gordo. Wait... did I just say that?  
  
She went downstairs, where she saw her mom making pancakes. "Oh, those look good." Lizzie complemented. Jo gave her a plate, and stacked pancakes onto it.  
  
"The butter and syrup is over there." Jo told her, pointing to it. Lizzie nodded, and sat down. As she started eating here breakfast, Matt walked into the room. He took one of Lizzie's pancakes on his way to the fridge, and Lizzie made him give it back by threatening to give him a wedgie.  
  
"Don't fight kids." Jo said. But secretly she was pleased that they liked her pancakes so much. "Gordo invited you and Miranda to spend the night at his house tonight. He rented a movie for you guys to watch."  
  
"Cool!" Lizzie said.  
  
"How come I never get do anything like that?" Matt pouted.  
  
"Because no one likes you!" Lizzie told him.  
  
"Lizzie..." Jo warned.  
  
Finally it was time for Lizzie to go the bus stop. She said good-bye to Jo, made sure her hair looked good, and left. Once she got on the bus, she went and sat down next to Miranda.  
  
"My mom told me about Gordo's tonight. I can't wait. We haven't had a sleepover since the time we went to Grubby Gulch!" Miranda squealed.  
  
"Yeah, I know! He rented a movie for us to watch, and I read the label." Lizzie replied, setting her backpack down.  
  
"Coolie. I hope it's a romance. They're so beautiful!" Miranda exclaimed.  
  
"Knowing Gordo, I bet it isn't." Lizzie replied. She started thinking. _I can't really talk to Gordo alone while we're at school, but we might be able to at the sleepover tonight. Maybe Miranda will get up from the movie for more popcorn or something, and I can ask him. He never did call me about his problem._  
  
"Earth to Lizzie!" Miranda said, tapping her shoulder. The bus had stopped, and everyone was getting out.  
  
"Huh? Oh!" Lizzie replied, realizing what Miranda had just told her. They stood up, and walked off of the bus.  
  
Lizzie saw Gordo in their usually meeting place, by the benches outside. "Hi Gordo." Lizzie said. We heard about the sleepover. We're both going to be able to come."  
  
"Oh! Great!" Gordo replied, and they walked inside the school.  
  
Toon Lizzie: I haven't been this excited in a long time. Staying up late, watching movies with all kinds of junk food, and doing it all with your friends has got to be the best way to spend the night. (Eats a slice of pizza)  
  
School seemed to pass slowly for the three, and when it finally let out, they all raced each other to the bus stop. Of course, Gordo had to go on a different bus, but they could still talk with each other while they were waiting.  
  
"I'll bring the newer scrapbook so we can work on it." Gordo told Lizzie.  
  
"Good! I have some pictures I took at the ice skating rink to put in it." Lizzie replied, taking some gum from her purse. She gave a piece to Gordo and Miranda, and pulled out another for herself.  
  
"You guys went _ice skating_?" Miranda asked, through chews. She gave Lizzie a raised eyebrow while Gordo was unwrapping his gum.  
  
"Uh-huh. I think it was the day you went to Ethan's house." Gordo explained, tying his shoe.  
  
"How did you know I went there? You weren't on the phone with Lizzie and I!" Miranda asked him, puzzled.   
  
"Oh... I uh, saw you go into his house." He told her.  
  
"Oh." Miranda said. _I never did talk to him about what's been bothering him. Maybe I'll get a chance to at the sleepover tonight._ She thought to herself, not knowing that Lizzie was planning to talk to him about the exact same thing.  
  
The bus arrived, and Lizzie and Miranda started getting on it. "I'll see you later!" Lizzie told Gordo, and waved. He smiled, and waved back.  
  
Back at home, Matt was rigging up a new prank for Lizzie. Yes, he had ended up having to pay Lizzie and Miranda for their jeans, but this next prank wouldn't ruin any belongings.

All it would do was scare Lizzie half to death! Once his prank was set, he sneaked back to his room, and chuckled to himself.  
  
Lizzie waved good-bye to Miranda as she got off of the bus, and walked to her house. She opened the front door, and went up to her room to do her homework. It seemed like it would never end!  
  
Toon Lizzie: I know high school is supposed to be hard, but this is ridiculous! I don't have time for four hours worth of homework. I need to start packing for tonight!  
  
She rested her chin on her hand, and read over assignment notebook. _Oh great. Last year it was a book report on "The Red Pony". Now it's one on White Fang!_ Lizzie thought with a sigh. _Sometimes I wonder if teachers just sit around and try to find boring books to make us read!_  
  
Just then she heard a knock. Jo came in her room. "Hi sweetie. Need help with anything?"  
  
"Thanks for offering, Mom, but basically this is something I have to do by myself. I have to read White Fang, and write a 10-page book report on it." Lizzie explained.  
  
"Oh... okay." Jo replied, a little disappointed. _My baby is growing up so fast. She never needs help with her homework anymore, she's in 9th grade, she's growing so tall...I guess that's just life._  
  
"So, how have you been feeling?" Lizzie asked, looking at Jo. The twins were growing bigger and bigger.  
  
"Well, I've had some morning sickness, and I've felt really tired a lot. I'm just glad I don't have to help out much with the nursery. You're father volunteered to do the decorating." Jo said, sitting down next to Lizzie on the bed.  
  
"Dad... _decorating_? I mean... no offense to him, but..." Lizzie tried to say.  
  
"Don't worry. I'll be there to supervise. But he'll just be doing most of the work!" Jo laughed. "You can help some if you want too. After all, they're not just my twins. They're your siblings!"  
  
Lizzie nodded. "I know. It just... seems so hard to believe sometimes, you know? It's been so long since you had Matt, it's hard to remember what it was like to have any new siblings." She looked down at her flower comforter.  
  
"I'm sure you'll love it, Lizzie. This is a big change for all of us, but it's something I really want." Jo told her. She gave Lizzie a reassuring smile. smile. "Well, I better go get dinner started."  
  
"Want some help?" Lizzie asked.  
  
"I think I've got it this time. I wouldn't want you to slack off on White Fang." Jo replied. Lizzie groaned.  
  
Toon Lizzie: Just when you've forgotten about your problem, it always comes right back to you! (Looks at tall, thick book)


	18. Ask Him! Ask Him!

Sorry if this chapter is kind of boring. I'm having trouble thinking of new ideas! But I will really try to make the next one better.

* * *

Lizzie had finally finished her homework. She took out her backpack, and quickly packed her toothbrush, hairbrush, makeup, pajamas, clothes for the next day, her photos from going ice skating, and a lot of other things.  
  
If she didn't hurry, she was going to be late. _It's not that much of a problem since I see Gordo all the time, but this isn't just a come-over-and- study day._ Lizzie thought to herself. _But this is a sleepover! A slumber party!_  
  
Toon Lizzie: Well, a real slumber party actually has more people. But _still_! It's going to be so much fun. (Pajamas, fuzzy slippers, and nightcap appears on her)  
  
She slipped on a pair of shoes, and suddenly thought of something. Mr. Snuggles. She secretly still slept with him, and hid him every morning as soon as she got up. _I can so not bring him. I'm too old for stuffed animals. I should have stopped this habit when I was, like, in fourth grade! Now I'm in ninth!_  
  
She stomped out of her room with her backpack. Taunts from Kate a long time ago still rang in her head. She tried to shove those thoughts and anything to do with stuffed animals out of her head. _Besides, I'm supposed to be mature by now!_ She thought, but looked back at her room with a frown.

Toon Lizzie: Stuffed animals are for babies! Don't bring him! _Don't bring him!_

Lizzie set her shoulders back straight, and walked away from her room without a second thought of Mr. Snnuggles.  
  
Fifteen minutes later, and she'd arrived at Gordo's. Lizzie said good- bye to Sam, who had brought Lizzie there instead of Jo. Jo was in her room resting, and Sam didn't want her to have to get up in case she'd fallen asleep.  
  
As Sam pulled out of the driveway, Lizzie waved. She knocked on the Gordon's door, setting down her backpack.  
  
Toon Lizzie: Is it possible to bring too _much_ stuff to a sleepover?  
  
The door opened a few moments later, and there stood Gordo looking quite pleased. "Hey Lizzie. C'mon in." He smiled at her. They walked to the living room, and joined Miranda where she was sitting on the couch.  
  
"You must have had less homework than I did." Lizzie told Miranda, since she had arrived before her.  
  
"I doubt it. It seemed to go on forever!" Miranda exclaimed. "I just got here a few minutes ago." Lizzie nodded, and there was an awkward silence.  
  
"So... what should we do first?" Gordo asked, wanting this to be an awesome sleepover for them.  
  
"We could work on the scrapbook." Lizzie suggested.  
  
"Yeah, I haven't seen the new one yet." Miranda replied.  
  
"Okay." Gordo told them. "I'll be right back. It's in my room." He left the girls alone for a few minutes.  
  
They were silent for a few minutes, and then Miranda said, "I still think you like him." She playfully, bumped her elbow into Lizzie's.  
  
"Miranda, I've already told you. Gordo and I are _just friends._ That's the way it's always going to be!" She told her.  
  
"You don't have to get mad about it." Miranda replied, and bit her lip.  
  
"I'm not mad. I'm just annoyed. Why does everyone think that we're like, perfect for each or something?" Lizzie continued, resting her hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Because you two are." Miranda insisted. Lizzie rolled her eyes, and the conversation came to a halt. Little did they know that Gordo had been listening from the next room.  
  
He hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but when he heard "Gordo and I are just friends", he'd stopped dead in his tracks. _She doesn't like me._ He thought with a broken-hearted sigh. _I just thought... maybe..._ He sighed again. _I guess I should have known it all along._  
  
He slowly walked into the living room, and sat down again. "Here." He said, giving the scrapbook to the girls.  
  
"What's wrong, Gordo? You look upset." Miranda asked him.  
  
"Oh... it's nothing." He lied, and tried to put on a happier face. I need to get out of this room. Now. "Hey... I'm going to go get us some snacks."  
  
"Okay." Lizzie nodded, and started showing Miranda what they'd already done in the scrapbook.  
  
Gordo almost ran out of the room, and into the kitchen. He sat down on a barstool, thinking. _Why am I even putting myself through this? I should have known she'd never like me. Liking Ronnie and Ethan already proved that she doesn't want me as her date._ He frowned._ But then again... I did go out with Brooke, and I wanted to go to the dance with Parker._  
  
He stood up and got out three cups. _Why did I? Was it because I did like them, or I was just lonely of being date-less ol' Gordo? Maybe it was just because I thought I'd never get Lizzie. Because I know that's what I'm thinking now._  
  
He poured some soda into the cups, and took a bag of potato chips from he pantry. He walked back into the living room, and handed the girls their snacks.  
  
"Thanks, Gordo." Lizzie told him, and they all started eating. She chewed and swallowed a potato chip, and then unzipped her backpack. She took a sip of soda, and took out the ice skating pictures. They all looked at them, and then taped them into the scrapbook.  
  
Lizzie looked up at Gordo. _He _does_ look upset._ _I bet it's the same problem we were talking about the day of ice skating. If only Miranda would leave the room for just a few minutes!_  
  
"What?" Gordo asked.  
  
"Huh? Oh!" Lizzie exclaimed. She hadn't realized she'd been staring at him. "Sorry."  
  
Miranda sensed something was up. "Hey, I'll be right back." She said, pointing to the restroom. Gordo nodded, and she left the room.  
  
_Wow! It's like she read my mind!_ Lizzie thought to herself. "Um, since we're alone, Gordo, I need to talk to you." She told him, after taking a deep breath. _Just relax. All you have to do is ask him._  
  
"Okay. What about?" He replied, hoping she wasn't going to tell him that they were never going to be more than just friends, even though he knew it was true.   
  
Toon Lizzie: Well, about why your acting so goofy all the time, if what Kate said is true, and why you look crushed all of a suden! Does that answer your question?  
  
"Well... I..." Lizzie stammered. _Be calm, Lizzie! Just ask him! Ask him!_  
  
Toon Lizzie: If I tell him... and he says yes, and then he asks me if I feel the same way, and I say no...  
  
"Yes?" Gordo asked, trying to get her to continue. _Just say it! You may as well get it over with! You only want me as a friend, and that's the way you always want it to be._  
  
Lizzie sighed uncomfortably.  
  
Toon Lizzie: But why _would_ I say no? Gordo's a nice guy!


	19. Perfect Ways to Ruin a Sleepover

"It's... never mind." Lizzie said, feeling embarrassed and stupid. _I had the chance! I should have said something!_ She felt like running out of the Gordon's house and never coming back.  
  
Gordo bit his lip. Lizzie ate a potato chip nervously. She took a big gulp of soda, and it went down the wrong way. She started coughing.  
  
"Are you okay?" Gordo asked, looking at her worriedly.  
  
Lizzie nodded, but wasn't sure. She kept on coughing. Gordo patted her back, and Lizzie gasped for a breath. She continued to cough, and Gordo didn't know what to do.  
  
By that time, Miranda had come back into the room. "Here!" She told her, handing her the soda for her to drink and try to stop the cough.  
  
Lizzie took the cup, and started drinking. Finally after a few moments, she stopped. "I'm sorry." She said, breathing heavily.  
  
"It's not your fault." Gordo replied, glad that she was fine. Now Lizzie felt even more embarrassed.  
  
Toon Lizzie: Is that the most perfect way to ruin a sleepover, or what? (Sits down and rests her hand on her chin)  
  
There was an awkward silence, and Lizzie took out a little purse that was in her backpack. It had gel pens in it to decorate the scrapbook, and she hoped to brake up the awkwardness.

But when she unzipped the purse, a batter-powered rubber snake popped out of it, and made a loud, hissing sound. "Aaaah!" Lizzie screamed, and threw the purse away from her.

It hit Gordo's head and fell to the floor. Miranda was laughing hysterically, and tried to stop when Lizzie glared. "Matt..." Lizzie said under her breath.  
  
Toon Lizzie: Just wait until I get home...  
  
Gordo was also laughing, and Lizzie took the purse back. "It's not that funny!"  
  
Finally it became night, and Gordo, Lizzie, and Miranda all started watching the movie. It did turn out to be a romance. Gordo caught himself several times staring at Lizzie during it.  
  
He couldn't pay attention to the movie, because he was thinking so much about her. Not that he wanted to pay attention to it, though. He'd only gotten a romance because he knew that Miranda and Lizzie would like it.  
  
And they did, so much so they forgot all about talking to Gordo about his problem.  
  
Once the movie was over, it was around 11:30. They decided to hit the sack. Lizzie claimed the couch, Miranda slept on a reclining chair, and Gordo got out a sleeping bag and slept on the floor.  
  
He lay asleep for a long time, staring at Lizzie in the dim light of the living room. _Her hair... her eyes... the way she smiles... _He thought, grinning. But his grin faded. _But she never wants to be more than just friends. She said so herself. _He kept staring at her, until he fell fast asleep.  
  
A few hours later Miranda was fidgeting on the recliner, only half- awake. She opened her eyes, blinked, and sniffed. What's that smell? She thought sleepily. Suddenly she heard loud beeping sounds that rang on and on.  
  
She sat up, now fully awake. _I know what that smell is. It's smoke!_ She thought fearfully. She looked around, and just in the next room, she saw a huge, orange-yellow flame. "Wake up!" She screamed to Lizzie and Gordo.  
  
"Wha..." Lizzie started to say, rubbing her eyes. Gordo opened his eyes, and him and Lizzie were now aware of the smell, too. They could hardly believe what was happening.  
  
_ "Fire! Get up, now!"_ Miranda screamed, louder this time. She inhaled a big breath of smoke, and started coughing. She grabbed a blanket, and held it over her mouth to block out the smoke. She tossed one to Lizzie and Gordo. "Here!" She said in a muffled voice.  
  
They put the blankets over their mouths, and all three of them started crawling to try and stay out of the smoke.  
  
Toon Lizzie: Run... er...crawl for your lives!!  
  
Gordo spotted a figure in the darkness. "Kids! Where are you?" It yelled. It was Mr. Gordon. Lizzie and Miranda soon saw him, too, and also saw Mrs. Gordon behind him.  
  
"We're over here!" Shouted Lizzie. Mr. And Mrs. Gordon rushed over to them, and started crawling along with them.  
  
"We've got to get out of here!" Mrs. Gordon said, coughing hard. Lizzie suddenly remembered the scrapbook. She knew it wasn't that important, but she really wanted it.  
  
Flames coming closer and closer, she crawled back as fast as she could. She grabbed the scrapbook, and joined the others.  
  
"We need to stick together!" Gordo told her over the sound of the roaring flames, worried that she'd get separated from them. Lizzie nodded, they all joined hands, and soon they were out of the living room, and outside.  
  
Toon Lizzie: Now I'm really glad that I didn't bring Mr. Snuggles. He would have been burned up!  
  
Once they were out, Lizzie cold see that Mrs. Gordon was crying. All she could think of to say was, "I'm so sorry."  
  
Fire trucks soon arrived. Fortunately, the ambulance that came wasn't needed, because no one had inhaled enough smoke to do much damage.  
  
The firemen succeeded in getting out the fire, but there was only ashes left. "Do you have any evidence of how the fire got started?" Mr. Gordon asked the firefighters, thinking of how much this was going to cost him.  
  
"Not yet, Sir. We will try our best to find out." One of them told him.  
  
Gordo was staring at the ashes with a blank expression on his face. He couldn't believe this was all really happening. Everything he owned was now ash. Lizzie gave him a hug, and so did Miranda.  
  
"I'm glad we all got out of there in time." Gordo told them, but he was looking right at Lizzie.  
  
"Me too." Miranda replied. She looked at what Lizzie was holding. "You got the scrapbook!" Lizzie nodded. "But now all your stuff is gone. All the videos you made and everything." Lizzie told Gordo with a sigh. She knew how much those meant to him.  
  
"Yeah... well, I still have the most important thing of all. The two best friends in the whole world." Gordo assured them.  
  
"That's so sweet." Miranda said, and they all formed a group hug. At that moment, Lizzie and Miranda forgot all about Gordo's problem.  
  
It seemed like everything was back to normal: three best friends all together instead of splitting apart, and going separate ways. That is of course, until Taylor came along.


	20. Taylor Somarriba

"Gordo, time to get up for school." Lizzie told him. She was downstairs in the living room, tapping Gordo on the shoulder. Sam and Jo had offered to let the Gordon's stay with them, until they could find another house they could afford to live in.  
  
Mr. And Mrs. Gordon slept on an inflatable mattress that Jo had found in a closet, and Gordo had decided to sleep on the couch. He stirred in his sleep, mumbling something about "not being ready for the math test".  
  
Lucky for Matt, so much had been going on in the past few days that Lizzie had forgotten all about the rubber snake incident.  
  
"Gordo, wake up!" Lizzie said, tapping him harder this time. She was already up, dressed, had eaten breakfast, and was ready to go. She couldn't believe he wasn't up yet. He was going to make her late if he didn't hurry!  
  
"Five more minutes." He said sleepily, not even opening his eyes. Lizzie rolled her eyes.  
  
"If you want to be late and risk getting detention, that's fine with me. But I'm leaving in five minutes!" She replied. She put on a pair of cute flops, and brushed her hair again.  
  
Gordo blinked, and suddenly realized where he was. He stood up, and took some clothes from a backpack. The McGuires had bought a few new things for the Gordon's to help them out, such as new clothes since all their other ones had been burned in the fire.  
  
He walked up to the bathroom in a hurry. He closed the door behind him, got dressed, brushed his hair and teeth, and walked back downstairs. He grabbed a nutrition bar from the pantry, because he didn't have time to eat breakfast.  
  
Him and Lizzie left, and hurried to the bus stop. They got on the bus just in time before it left, and sat down on one of the uncomfortable seats with a sigh. Miranda was already on the bus. She was in the seat in front of them, sitting next to Ethan.  
  
Gordo almost dozed off several times, despite Lizzie chatting with Miranda, and Ethan talking to Miranda. He yawned, and leaned so far over that he fell onto the floor with a loud "thump"!  
  
His ears turned bright red, and Lizzie helped him back up. "Thanks." He mumbled, avoiding Lizzie's eyes. The bus arrived at the school, and everyone got out. Lizzie and Gordo walked to their first class, which was Arithmetic.  
  
Gordo's palms were sweaty. He was nervous about the test today that he hadn't studied for as much as he should have. Usually he was a very good student, but lately he just couldn't seemed to stay focused on his schoolwork.  
  
Everyone sat down, except of course for their teacher, Ms. Wesler. She looked especially happy this morning, unlike Gordo. _Does she enjoy torturing us, or something?_ He thought irritated. But he didn't know that she was happy about something else.  
  
Suddenly, a tall, dark-haired guy walked into the classroom. The first person he laid eyes on was Lizzie. The way he smiled at her made her feel especially excited that morning. She smiled back.  
  
Gordo raised an eyebrow at seeing this, knowing that Lizzie was attracted to cute guys.  
  
"Everyone, I'd like you to meat Taylor Somarriba. He is are new transfer student, who is going to be staying with us for at least a month, if not more." Ms. Wesler told her students. "I want you all to make him feel very welcome, as he's come all the way from Mexico."  
  
Toon Lizzie: I'll make him feel welcome; you don't have to worry about that!  
  
Taylor sat in an empty seat, which happened to be next to where Lizzie was sitting. Lizzie glanced at him, and he was smiling at her again. By now, you can bet that Gordo was feeling a bit jealous.  
  
He thought he'd gotten over the fact that he was short, but it kept crawling back into his mind. Taylor was tall, and he could tell Lizzie liked him. And Ethan was tall, and Lizzie had fallen for him, too. He was deep in thought, when Ms. Wesler snapped him out of it.  
  
She placed the test on his desk, and he stared at it. He felt like hitting his head on the desk and getting amnesia again so he wouldn't have to take it. Once all of the tests had been passed around, Ms. Wesler told the class to begin.  
  
Gordo struggled through it, guessing on a lot of the questions. Lizzie could tell he was having a difficult time, and she suddenly remembered what Gordo had mumbled when she was trying to wake him up that morning.  
  
_It's got to be hard to study when you're worrying about not finding a place to live! I wish I could help him some way..._ Lizzie thought to herself, troubled as to what to do. _I can't cheat... but I don't want him to get a bad grade. If only I'd offered to help him study._  
  
Finally it was time for everyone to turn in their papers. Gordo sighed as he did, and everyone went on to their next class. Taylor asked Lizzie if they could eat lunch together, as they were on their way out of the room.  
  
She didn't know what to say at first. Taylor seemed really nice, but she didn't want to offend her friends. But then again, Miranda had sat with Ethan several times without them. "Um, sure." She told him.  
  
"Great." He replied, waved, and went to his next class. Gordo got that green-eyed monster feeling again when he heard this. _Lizzie is not going to be your boyfriend. Do you know how long we've been best friends? _He wanted to say to Taylor. He glared at him.  
  
But then Lizzie's words rang loud and clear in his head. _"Gordo and I are just friends. That's the way it's always going to be"_. Gordo balled his hand into a fist. _Fine. If that's the way she wants it to be, than let her have ol' Taylor whatever-his-last-name-is! In fact, why even be friends? All it causes me is grief!_  
  
He made a promise to himself to not say anything to Lizzie unless she said something to him, and even then, only brief conversation. _Though it is going to be hard, since we're staying at her house!_ He thought. _I hope Mom and Dad find a house soon._  
  
He walked to his next class, and on the way there, he heard shouting. Curious, he turned around and saw Kate and Larry. "You are such a geek! I can't believe I ever thought you'd changed!" She told him, and stomped away with the same look on her face that she always used to have when she was popular.  
  
_Her old ways are back again... I knew they wouldn't last!_ Gordo thought with a roll of his eyes. Larry was standing there, speechless. He glared at Kate, and stormed away. _I wonder what happened._ Gordo thought to himself.  
  
He was just about to ask Lizzie if she knew, when he remembered that he wasn't talking to her. _Oh well. I shouldn't be a part in gossip, anyways._  
  
After school, Gordo let Miranda sit next to Lizzie on the bus, and he sat in a seat in the back. Unfortunately for him though, he got stuck next to Ethan. "Hey Gordon." He said, lightly punching him in the shoulder. Gordo wanted to ignore him, but he kept on talking. "I heard about your house. That's gotta be rough, dude."  
  
Gordo just nodded, hoping Ethan would shut up. _Why bring up what can't be changed? I'm so sick of people talking about it. And I'm so sick of this awful day! _


	21. How the Bad Day Got Worse

When Lizzie and Gordo stepped into the McGuire house that afternoon, they heard the sounds of the construction crew. Gordo groaned under his breath. He never had to hear this sort of thing back at his old house.  
  
Lizzie, wanting to help Gordo this time, offered to help him study for his next test. "No thanks." He said coldly. He'd been thinking about Lizzie sitting with Taylor at lunch that day. He didn't mind if Miranda sat with Ethan... but this was_ Lizzie_!  
  
"Okay..." Lizzie said, puzzled. I hope I didn't do something to make him mad. _Maybe he's just having a bad day. _She decided to leave him alone for the time being, and went up to her room to do her homework.  
  
She was writing the last few sentences of her book report on White Fang, when she noticed someone standing in the doorway out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head, and saw Sam standing there.  
  
"Hi Lizzie. Can I come in?" He asked.  
  
"Okay." Lizzie said, hoping he didn't plan on staying long. "What's up?"  
  
"Well, the Gordon's are having a rougher time than we thought. Mr. Gordon got been laid off from his job today." He told her seriously.  
  
"Ohmygosh, that's awful!" Lizzie exclaimed. She frowned. Poor Gordo! _First his problem... whatever it was, then his house, now this!_ She thought sympathetically. "Does he know yet?"  
  
"Gordo?"  
  
"Yeah." Lizzie replied.  
  
"His parents are downstairs talking to him right now. It might be a good idea to let him sort out his thoughts for a while before you go and talk with him." Sam told her.  
  
Toon Lizzie: My dad has been given good advice at least a few times before... maybe I should do what he said.  
  
Lizzie nodded. Sam patted her on the knee, and left her room. Lizzie leaned back in her chair, forgetting all about her book report. _Maybe I'm the one who needs some time to sort out my thoughts!_  
  
She picked up the scrapbook, which had been lying on top of her desk. It still smelled faintly of smoke. She flipped through the few pages that had photos and drawings in them.  
  
Her thoughts drifted off to the way Gordo had acted earlier. _All these years we've been best friends. I hope he won't mind if I hang out with Taylor some, too._ But Lizzie didn't know what just "hanging out" would turn into.  
  
Later on that day, Lizzie finally came downstairs. She saw Gordo sitting sullenly on the couch, remote in hand, flipping through stations on the McGuire's TV. "Hi Gordo." Lizzie said to him. He barely even looked up. _Boy, he must really be bummed out!_  
  
"I heard about your dad's job. I'm really sorry." She tried again. Gordo nodded, but said nothing. "Are you okay?"  
  
"I'm fine!" He exclaimed, and turned off the TV. He stared at the ceiling. _I don't want to make Lizzie mad. But she's the one who's making me angry. Just when I think maybe, just maybe, she wants to be more than a friend, someone else comes along. I'm not going to put up with it anymore!_  
  
Lizzie looked own at the ground. "Did I do something wrong?" Lizzie asked. She was beginning to think that Mr. Gordon's job wasn't exactly why he was upset.  
  
Gordo looked up into Lizzie's worried eyes. He wanted to tell her what he felt. He wanted everything to be okay. But Taylor's name raced through his mind. "Just forget it." He mumbled, and walked out of the room and out of the McGuire's home, feeling a heavy burden on his heart.  
  
Lizzie didn't know what to do. Suddenly, she felt like to talking to Miranda.  
  
Toon Lizzie: What are friends for? Unless... she's doing something with Ethan.  
  
She raced up to her room, closed the door behind her with a loud "ka- bang", and rushed over to her phone. She took a deep breath, and punched in Miranda's phone number. The line was busy. "Ugh!" She complained, and tapped her fingers.  
  
She decided to write what had been going on into her diary. Not that these things were something that she wanted to remember, but if she couldn't talk to Miranda, she needed something to sort out her thoughts to. She took a blue and green striped pen out from a desk drawer, and took out her diary from its secret spot.  
  
_Dear Diary:  
  
Things have been going way out of control. Gordo seems upset with me, his house burnt down, and his dad lost his job! Him and his parents have been staying with us, and things haven't been going well for them at all.  
  
Since they won't have much income until Mr. Gordon finds a new job, my guess is that they'll be staying with us longer since they probably won't be able to afford a new house any time soon!  
  
Normally, I wouldn't mind, and would be having a great time with Gordo, doing fun stuff with him and just hanging out! But he's going through so much, and I think things are getting tense between us. I think he needs some time to cool off.  
  
In the meantime, the nursery is almost done being built, so we can decorate it very soon! Mom is getting bigger and bigger. I know I should feel happy about two new siblings, but it's weird. It's like it feels that it's not even happening! Maybe it's because I've been so caught up with other things lately.  
  
Maybe I should go and see if Mom needs help with anything. Things have got to be hard for her, too!  
_  
Lizzie put away her diary, put on some older clothes in case Jo needed her to do some work for her, and walked downstairs. She was deep in thought, and wasn't paying attention to what was going on around her. She didn't see Matt rushing up the stairs, until he bumped into her, and they both lost their balance.  
  
They tumbled down the steps, yelling on the way down. Once on the floor, Lizzie groaned. She slowly got up, as Matt did the same. "Watch where you're going next time, huh?" He told her, brushing off his shirt.  
  
"Well maybe _you_ should too! Why were you in such a hurry in the first place?" She asked him.  
  
"I told Lanny I'd call him this afternoon, and I forgot to. I hope he isn't mad!" Matt jogged up the steps, two at a time.  
  
Toon Lizzie: Not like Lanny would say he was mad in the first place!  
  
Lizzie walked into the kitchen looking for Jo. She was fixing dinner. "Mom, you should be resting! Let me do that."  
  
"Oh Lizzie, it's okay, I can do this-"Jo tried to say.  
  
"No Mom, I insist. You go straight up to your room and lay down!" She instructed.  
  
"Okay, okay." Jo said, giving in. Having twins is a good way to get out of housework! She thought with a smile. "Make sure you follow the cookbook!" She added as she left the room.  
  
Lizzie looked at the frying pan that Jo had on the stove. The cookbook near it was on a page titled, "Vegetable Lasagna that's Out of This World!" Lizzie turned on the stove, and put some oil in the pan to fry the vegetables in like the book instructed. She accidentally spilled some on the floor. "Oh shoot!" She exclaimed.  
  
She grabbed a paper towel, and started wiping it up. She stood up, with the paper towel still in her hand, and one of her flops slipped on some oil she'd missed. "Oof!" She said, and she fell onto the floor.  
  
The paper towel flew out of her hand, landed in the frying pan, and started a giant flame! At that instant, the memory of her inside Gordo's burning home all rushed back to her.  
  
She jumped up, and yelled with all her might, "_Fire!_" That was the last thing she remembered before she blacked out. 


	22. A Jealous Gordo

By that time, Gordo was walking up the steps to the McGuire's house. He'd taken a walk to help clear his brain. He opened the door, and stepped inside. Heart skipped a beat, as he smelled the scent of smoke.  
  
The hairs on his arm stood up, and he ran toward the smell. He stopped at the kitchen, and saw the great flame spreading.  
  
Suddenly he spotted Lizzie lying motionlessly on the ground. _"Lizzie!"_ he yelped. She was just inches from the flames. A burning cookbook lie near her. It had fallen off of the counter, hit her on the head, and knocked her out.  
  
He rushed over to her, the heat intense. He grabbed her hand, and dragged her far away from the fire. "Lizzie! Lizzie wake up!" He managed to say through his fear. She stirred groggily in her unconsciousness. Her eyes fluttered, and then closed again.  
  
By this time, Jo was rushing down the stairs of her home, Matt close behind her with the phone in his hand. "What's going on?!" Jo demanded, as smoke started billowing from the kitchen. She saw the fire, and gasped.  
  
Matt stared in disbelief, and the phone dropped from his hand. Wide-eyed, he picked it back up. He briefly told Lanny that he'd call him back later, hung up, and dialed 9-1-1.  
  
With Jo's help, Gordo got Lizzie up off the ground. "Wha..." She managed to say. Opening her eyes, she looked at the kitchen. Very alert now, she said, "We've got to get out of here!" She coughed from the smoke, still in shock.  
  
Jo grabbed a fire extinguisher from a closet, and motioned for the kids to go outside. Lizzie didn't want to leave her behind, but Jo promised she'd been out there soon. Gordo, still holding onto Lizzie's hand, rushed along with her and Matt out the front door.  
  
Back inside, trying hard not to breathe in much smoke, was Jo getting the fire somewhat under control with the extinguisher. She heard the sounds of sirens, and wiped the sweat off her forehead with relief. She ran outside, and saw firemen running up to the house with a long hose.  
  
They managed to put out the fire before it had spread to the next room, and Jo smiled wearily at them when they came out. "I don't know how to thank you enough!" She burst out.  
  
Lizzie realized with surprise all what had just happened. _Gordo saved my life!_ She thought, and turned her head. She looked into his wonderful eyes. "Gordo... I should be the one saying thank you. Y-you saved me!" She gave him a long hug.  
  
Once they pulled apart, Gordo wasn't quite sure what to say. He looked down at the ground, and then back up at Lizzie. "I'm glad you're okay. And, hey. Your house made it through a fire. It's your lucky day."  
  
She smiled at him. Gordo smiled back. He was forgetting all about being angry with her now!  
  
"Hate to, uh, interrupt this moment (Not actually caring at all if he interrupted it), but when Dad finds out about this..." Matt whistled a low note.  
  
Annoyed, Lizzie muttered to him, "Go find someone else to pester."  
  
"Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you!" Matt replied, before leaving the two alone. There was an awkward silence, and it broke when Jo rushed over to them, one hand on her stomach.  
  
"Mom, are you okay?" Lizzie asked with a worried frown.  
  
"Yes, honey I'm fine, thanks. And I'm glad you're okay, too. But I want to know just how this fire got started!" She demanded. "Your father is going to have a fit when he finds out about this."  
  
"It was my fault." Lizzie explained what had happened, especially adding the part about Gordo's brave effort.  
  
Jo gave Gordo a pleased smile. "Gordo, thank you so much. If it weren't for you..." She didn't continue, not wanting to think about what might had happened. Gordo nodded, his ears turning slightly pink.  
  
Curious neighbors who had come out of their houses to see what was going on sighed with relief when they saw the fire truck leave the McGuire's home without it's siren on.  
  
Gordo's parents, who had gone out driving to look for a new job for Mr. Gordon, pulled into the driveway a few minutes later. The smell of smoke still lingered in the air, and as they stepped out of their vehicle, they looked at Jo worriedly. She came over to them, and assured them that everything was okay.  
  
"Lizzie just had a... clumsy moment." She told them. She suggested that they stay at a motel for the next or so because of the smell. The Gordon's agreed, and Jo called Sam with the cell phone that was in her pocket. Her call lasted a while, as she re-told the story al over again to him.  
  
Thirty minutes later, and they were all at a motel. They picked up some pajamas and such for the night at a local store on the way there, since they couldn't go into the McGuire's home to get their own.  
  
Sam, who did get upset at Lizzie for almost burning his house down, finally managed to cool down once he started reading one of his gnome magazines.  
  
The McGuire's check into room 223, and the Gordon's checked into one a couple rooms down. Gordo sat down on his bed, thinking mainly about Lizzie. _I just don't know why she doesn't like me. I mean... I'm not tall, but I'm taller than I used to be. And I'm not the worst looking guy on the planet._  
  
He sighed and leaned back against the wooden headboard. _I've always tried to impress her by what's in my mind instead of how I look, but she's just not impressed by it! If only I could just get her to realize how much I really do like her._  
  
When he went to sleep that night, his dreams were a mix of Taylor, fires, and Lizzie. And in the dream, Taylor rescued Lizzie from the fire, not Gordo.  
  
The next morning, he woke up, trying to forget about his dream. He yawned, and realized with gladness that it was a Saturday. He looked at the clock. It was a good thing it was Saturday, because he would have been late for school if it weren't. It was already 10:00!  
  
Gordo thought happily to himself that he could be with Lizzie without having to do any schoolwork. Little did he know that he wasn't going to spend time with Lizzie that day.  
  
"Yeah, Taylor. That'd be great." Lizzie said excitedly from the motel room she was in. Her parents were down at the continental breakfast. They'd slept in, like Gordo.  
  
Lizzie was talking to Taylor on the motel phone to see if he wanted to do something that day. She'd had a pretty good time with him when they'd eaten lunch together at school.  
  
"See you in a few!" Taylor told her. They hung up, and Lizzie smiled broadly. Her and Taylor planned to meat each other at the Digital Bean. When Jo and Sam came back from breakfast, Lizzie told Jo about her date.  
  
"Oh." Was all Jo said. She was disappointed. She thought that Lizzie liked Gordo now. She dropped her off at the D.B. "Well... bye Lizzie." She left with a sigh.  
  
Lizzie waved to her, and spotted Taylor inside by the computers. "Hi!" She said to him.  
  
"Hello, Lizzie." He said, smiling at her. "How about we get a snack? My treat!"  
  
"Sure, thanks." Lizzie replied.  
  
Toon Lizzie: Hanging out with a cute guy, and food? I could get used to that! (Slurps a smoothie)  
  
Back at the motel, Gordo knocked on the McGuire's door. Matt looked through the peephole, and opened it. "Hey, Gordo. Lizzie's not here."  
  
"She's not?" He asked, very disappointed. "Where is she?"  
  
"At the Digital Bean." Matt said, knowing Gordo would be jealous. He snickered under his breath.  
  
"With Miranda?" Gordo replied, starting to get a bad feeling about this.  
  
"No. She said something about, uh... going on a date with a dude named Taylor." Matt told him, practically seeing steam come out of Gordo's ears.  
  
"Thanks." Gordo said to Matt through gritted teeth. He went back to the motel room he was staying in, and sulked for the rest of the afternoon. 


	23. Feelings of Anger

That evening, Lizzie was sitting on her bed in the motel room, daydreaming. She'd had a wonderful time with Taylor that morning. After the D.B. they'd gone to a movie together. Taylor had called Lizzie his girlfriend, and she'd practically melted with happiness.  
  
Matt gave her a strange look. "Why are you staring into space?" She didn't hear him. "By the way, Gordo came while you were gone."  
  
Lizzie snapped out of her thoughts. "Gordo? What did he want?"  
  
"Not sure. But when I told him you were with Taylor, boy did he look jealous!" Matt chuckled to himself. He'd guessed a while back that Gordo liked Lizzie; just by the way he sometimes looked at her. Lizzie, in Matt's opinion, was just too blind to see it.  
  
Lizzie wasn't quite sure what to say to this. If Gordo really was jealous, than that had to mean... She sighed, and decided to go visit him. If he was upset before about Taylor, I can't imagine how he feels now. How am I going to explain Taylor to him?  
  
She knocked on the Gordon's door. Gordo opened it, and looked at Lizzie with cold eyes. "Yes?"  
  
"Can... I come in?" She asked hopefully. Gordo sighed. He nodded, and Lizzie stepped inside.  
  
"Well, hello Lizzie." Mrs. Gordon greeted her with a warm smile. She gave Gordo a sideways glance, wanting him to be friendly to her. She couldn't understand why her son was being so rude. "Sit yourself right down."  
  
She sat down on a hard chair, and bit her lip. _How am I going to talk to Gordo about Taylor with his parents right here?_ "Um... I kind of need to talk to you about something. She glanced toward the door.  
  
"I'm kind of busy right now." He replied stubbornly, looking very hurt.  
  
Toon Lizzie: Busy? Stuck in a motel with nothing to do but watch TV? I don't think so!  
  
"Well... I'll come back later then." Lizzie let herself out the door, mumbling a good-bye to Mr. And Mrs. Gordon.  
  
Once she left, Mrs. Gordon got up from where she was sitting. "Gordo, why did you tell her that?" She asked, hoping Lizzie's feelings weren't hurt. But what she didn't know was that her own son's feelings were the ones that were hurt.  
  
"It's nothing." Gordo told her. "I'm going for a walk." He said, and left the motel. Mrs. Gordon sighed, and gave her husband one of those parent something's-going-on-that-I-want-to-know-about looks.  
  
Outside, Gordo trudged along the sidewalks. He was very unsure as to what to do. Lizzie didn't have to tell him what was going on with Taylor, because he'd already guessed it. Sadness overwhelmed him. Even if he found another girl, he knew he wouldn't be happy with her. _The only girl I'll ever truly love is Lizzie._ He realized.  
  
Back at room 223, Lizzie's head was spinning. _Gordo acts like if I date Taylor, I can't be his friend anymore. That's not fair! If he wasn't happy with just being a friend, he should have said something. I am not going to let him stop me from being with someone that I have a good time with! From now on, all he's going to be is my friend._  
  
She desperately wanted to talk to Miranda about her problem, but she couldn't with her whole family right in the room.  
  
Bored completely, Matt asked Jo and Sam if he could go walk around outside. "Okay Matt, but don't go outside of the parking lot. I don't want you getting lost." Jo told him, and he rolled his eyes when she wasn't looking.  
  
_I'm old enough to walk around like Lizzie does! I've walked around by myself before. It's not like I'm hours and hours away from her._ He thought with a rebellious glare in his eyes. He walked out the door, away from the motel, and onto the sidewalks. He walked, and walked, and kept on walking.  
  
After a while, he decided to finally go back. He turned around, and started heading for the motel. But when he came to a certain point, he stopped with a confused look on his face. "Was that street the way back, or was that the one?" He asked himself. He no longer felt brave and adventurous. He felt lost!  
  
Just around the corner was Gordo, still trying to sort out his thoughts. He walked a bit farther, and saw Matt sitting on a bench, looking lonely and confused. "Are you okay?"  
  
Matt's head snapped up. "Gordo!" He exclaimed with a grin. "A familiar face! I thought I'd never find my way back. And here you are!"  
  
_At least someone appreciates me!_ Gordo thought. Though he wasn't really upset at Lizzie anymore. He just felt sad again."You're trying to find the motel?" He asked.

Matt nodded. "I'll walk you there." Gordo suggested, and again Matt nodded. He felt embarrassed about being lost, but he did want to get back.  
  
When they arrived at the motel, Matt asked Gordo if he wanted to stay for dinner. "We're having curly fries..." Matt sang.  
  
Gordo's eyes opened wide. Beautiful, crisp, greasy curly fries! "I'll stay!" He exclaimed.  
  
"Thought you would." Matt replied, and opened the door to the McGuire's room. Jo look relieved when they walked in. Lizzie on the other hand, saw Gordo and wished she were anywhere else but there. Now _she_ was the one angry with _him_!  
  
It'd been at least 25 minutes since Matt had left, and Jo doubted that he could have taken that long just to walk around the motel. "Matt McGuire, where were you?"  
  
"Just walking!" He said quickly. Gordo gave Jo a he's-not-telling-the- truth look. Matt glared at him when he saw this.  
  
"Whose side are you on, anyways?" He whispered to Gordo.  
  
"Matt, I heard that. Did you disobey me?" She asked, already knowing he did. Sam nonchalantly flipped through a magazine while drinking a cup of coffee. He was glad to have a wife who took care of the punishments!  
  
"And what if I did?" Matt challenged.  
  
Jo gave him a serious stare. She'd never known him to act like this before. "Matt, I do not accept talk like that from you. It's disrespect. As for my previous question, I want an answer."  
  
Lizzie sighed. Before if anything like this happened, she could just go up to her room and drown them out. She liked having peace and quiet. She walked out the door, glad to get away from Matt and Gordo.  
  
He saw her leave, and was disappointed. He could tell she seemed upset with him. He didn't know why, though. _If only she wasn't dating Taylor! If only she hadn't met him in the first place._ He thought to himself. "Um, I'll be back in a few." Gordo told Mrs. Gordon.  
  
Jo didn't hear him because she was upset at Matt. "Are you going to answer me?"  
  
He sighed. "Fine, I cave.Yes, I went farther than the parking lot. But I thought I was old enough!"  
  
"It doesn't matter what you thought! I told you not to!" Jo shot back.  
  
"Mom, I'm more mature than you think. Why do you have to treat me like a little kid?" Matt whined.  
  
"Because you act like it, Matt! Until you're responsible enough, I can't let you go wandering around and getting lost. And since Gordo came home with you, I have to wonder if you did get lost!" Jo replied, with her arms crossed.  
  
The argument got hotter and hotter, while Lizzie outside was getting colder. She was sitting on a bench, starting to shiver. It was getting cooler outside, and she put on the sweater that was tied around her waist. She turned her head, and saw Gordo walking towards her.  
  
Toon Lizzie: Why does he have to show up now? Can't I be alone just for a few minutes of my life?  
  
He sat down next to her. "Lizzie, we need to talk."


	24. The Fight

Lizzie continued to just sit there. "I want to know why you're mad at me!" He exclaimed. He couldn't stand to have her mad at him. He just couldn't bear it!  
  
Lizzie sighed. "Look, Gordo. For some reason, you're upset that I'm dating Taylor. And I think that's why you seemed angry before. But I'm only upset at you, because it's not fair. I'm not going to let you ruin my having a good time with him! I had so much fun with him, Gordo!" Lizzie exclaimed, glad to finally let it out.  
  
Gordo looked crushed. He felt a chill go through his body, as Lizzie's words once again echoed through his head. He just simply said, "Lizzie, whatever I did to make you angry, please forgive me."  
  
Lizzie hesitated for a moment. "Well... okay." She agreed.  
  
He immediately looked relieved. In fact, he was overjoyed on the inside. _Lizzie's not mad at me anymore! Yes!_ Then he felt the sadness sweep through him. _But she's dating Taylor..._ He changed the subject. "Uh, is it okay with you if I stay for dinner? Matt invited me."  
  
"Sure, why not?" Lizzie smiled. Gordo smiled back. He couldn't help but stare into her eyes. They seemed frozen there. "Um, Gordo... what's with the goofy grin?"  
  
He quickly shook his head and snapped out of it. "Sorry." He muttered. He tried to make his expression more casual. "We should probably get back. It's getting dark out here."  
  
As they walked back, Gordo resisted the urge to slip his hand into hers. _She'll always want me as just a friend. Always._  
  
The next day, The McGuire's and Gordon's were back at Lizzie's house. Sam had hired some workers who could get the smoke smell out while they'd been at the motel. And as punishment for not being careful while cooking, Lizzie's parents made her pay the workers.  
  
Reluctantly she handed the money to them. They thanked her, and left. Just then, Mrs. Gordon called Gordo to the living room. He sat down, and his parents were already there.  
  
"I found a new job, David!" Mr. Gordon told him happily. "And guess what? It's only five states away from here!"  
  
_"What?!"_ Gordo shouted. Suddenly, he sat straight up. He'd fallen asleep during his family meeting! He'd been tired from staying up the last night, watching a movie on TV. He clutched his heart and sighed with relief. It had been just a dream!  
  
"Gordo, pay attention!" Mrs. Gordon told him. "We have news to share with you."  
  
Mr. Gordon smiled. "We found a job! And guess what?"  
  
Gordo stared at him blankly, freaked out. _Don't say it! We can't be moving five states away! I won't do it!_  
  
"It's only-"  
  
_No! Don't' say it! No!_ Gordo thought.  
  
"A few miles from here!" Mr. Gordon finished. Again Gordo sighed with relief. "And there's more." He told Gordo, and looked at Mrs. Gordon.  
  
"We found a house. It's right next door to Miranda's home!" She said, grinning. She thought Gordo would be excited at that, but he remained nonchalant.  
  
"That's... good." He replied. Sure, Miranda was one of his best friends, but she seemed to be kind of drifting away from him and Lizzie lately. It seemed like Ethan was more important to her now. And frankly, he didn't mind much. Now he was going to be seeing her all the time!  
  
"It's something wrong, David?" Mrs. Gordon asked, disappointed.  
  
"Uh, no. I'm glad you found a house." He told her, and plastered on a fake smile. Mrs. Gordon nodded slowly, not really believing him.  
  
"I filled out the application, and they hired me on the spot!" Mr. Gordon told his family. "They seemed desperate for employees!"  
  
"That's great. So when do you start working?" Gordo asked, trying to get away from the house subject.  
  
"Tomorrow!" He exclaimed. Him and his wife hugged each other.  
  
They were celebrating, but that was the last thing Gordo wanted to do. He had hoped that he'd be staying at the McGuire's house for a while. "I'm going to go tell Lizzie, okay?"  
  
His parents nodded, and he went up to Lizzie's room. The door was open, so he walked in. Lizzie was typing something on her computer, and didn't hear him come in. He peered over her shoulder. "What are you doing?"  
  
Lizzie gasped, and spun her head around. When she saw it was Gordo, she sighed. "You scared me, Gordo!"  
  
"Sorry." He mumbled. Just then, he saw Lizzie was instant messaging Taylor. He felt his hand ball into a fist with jealousy, but he didn't say anything about it. "My dad got a job." He mentioned. "And my mom found us a house to buy."  
  
"Oh, that's great. I'm happy for you." Lizzie replied with a smile. She typed a response to something Taylor said, and then turned back around to face Gordo. "Where's the house?"  
  
"If you can believe it, it's next to Miranda's." He told her.  
  
"Really? That's so cool!" Lizzie exclaimed.  
  
Gordo smiled stiffly. "Yeah."  
  
"Let's call her up and tell her." Lizzie reached for her phone. "You can use this one. I'll get the one from downstairs." She told Taylor she had to go, and signed off.  
  
After she came back from downstairs with the phone, they called her up. After a couple of rings, Miranda picked up. They talked for a really long time, with Gordo saying just a few things here and there.  
  
"That's neat, Gordo. I can help you unpack!" Miranda told him.  
  
"Well... I don't have much stuff to unpack yet." He chuckled. "Don't you remember?"  
  
"Oh yeah. I'm sorry." Actually, she had forgotten about Gordo's house. She hadn't spent much time with him lately. No one said anything, so Miranda tried to make conversation. "Lizzie, guess what?"  
  
"What?" Lizzie asked her.  
  
"Ethan is taking me as his date to the school dance!" She squealed.  
  
Gordo rolled his eyes. "Didn't you learn anything at the last dance we went to? Ethan dances like... well, I don't know!"  
  
"Gordo," She told him, a bit annoyed, "I don't_ care_ how he dances. I just want to have a good time with him!"  
  
"You'll be so embarrassed to be with him, that you won't have a good time!" Gordo argued. "Ethan is just stupid!"  
  
"Stupid? Maybe _you're_ the one who's stupid!" Miranda shot back.  
  
Lizzie sighed. "Guys, it doesn't matter! Let's not get into a big fight about nothing."  
  
"Whatever." Miranda said. "I've got to go. Bye." She hung up. Then Gordo and Lizzie did.  
  
"Gordo, what is your major problem?" Lizzie snapped at him. "We were having a nice talk, and then you had to go and be rude!"  
  
"I wasn't trying to be rude! I just don't want her to get hurt. Ethan is not the kind of guy to hang with. I thought you knew that!"  
  
"Maybe not the right guy for me, but why not her?" Lizzie got up from where she was sitting. "Why do you always act like you know everything? You're always trying to control who I date!"  
  
"I am_ not_!"  
  
"You are _too_!"  
  
"If you're going to be accusing me of things that aren't true, then what's the point if even being around you?" Gordo shouted.  
  
"Fine! If that's the way you feel, then you don't ever have to speak to me again!" Lizzie yelled.  
  
Toon Lizzie: And that goes for me, too! (Glares at the little robot she uses as Gordo)  
  
"Fine!" Gordo stomped out of her room, and thought with a frown that he had probably just ruined any chance he'd ever have with her. 


	25. Gordo Tells Someone

Lizzie sat on her bed, feeling very upset with herself. _Lizzie, you're in high school. Why can't you ever realize that? Stupid fights with your friends are just plain immature!_  
  
Toon Lizzie: I just got over being mad at Gordo. And here I went and screwed things up again!  
  
Yet Gordo was thinking that _he_ was the one who screwed things up. But neither one of them wanted to admit that they'd been wrong, even though they both were really sorry. And now that Gordo was moving, it would be even harder for them to patch things up.  
  
The Gordon's went to the closing on the house, and Gordo's parents were excited. Gordo, on the other hand, was not at all. The very next day they moved into it.  
  
"Why so soon, Mom? Aren't we rushing things?" He asked with a sigh.  
  
"Gordo, I was trying to do Mrs. McGuire a favor. We've been staying with them much too long. I think we've outworn our welcome!" She replied, arranging the few things she had for the house.  
  
Although Mr. Gordon had just started working recently, Mrs. Gordon insisted they go shopping. "We can't just be living in a blank house!" She told him, and Mr. Gordon agreed.  
  
"You want to come along, David?" He asked.  
  
"No thanks." Gordo mumbled, and went up to his new room. He needed to talk to someone about his troubles. He looked at Miranda's house from his window. _Maybe she can help me. It's worth a try._ He thought to himself. He walked over to her house, and knocked on the door.  
  
Miranda and opened it. "What do you want?" She asked with a scowl. She was still upset at Gordo.  
  
"Look, I know you're mad, but I need to talk to someone. We're best friends... at least... we used to be. Do you have a second?" Gordo asked her.  
  
She stood in thought for a moment. "Well... okay. Come on in." They walked inside, and Mrs. Sanchez greeted Gordo.  
  
"It's so nice to see you again. Are you enjoying you're new home?"  
  
"Uh, yeah." Gordo lied. _How can I be enjoying it at a time like this?_ He thought as he tried to look cheerful. Mrs. Sanchez smiled, and went into the kitchen were she was making dinner.  
  
Miranda led Gordo to the living room, and they sat down on a couch. "So what's up?" Miranda asked, twirling a strand of her dark hair around her finger.  
  
"Well..." Gordo started off. He started explaining from the very beginning, and just kept going on and on. He told her about liking Lizzie (Miranda interrupting and saying "I knew it!", and then let him continue), to thinking how pretty Lizzie looked when he saw her on the first day of high school, to being in almost all her classes, going to the D.B. with her and being kidnapped, getting amnesia and finally remembering her, almost telling her how he felt on his porch, going to the library and almost telling her then, too... and everything else right up to the fight they'd had.  
  
"Wow." Miranda said when he was finally finished, not really knowing what to say.  
  
"I don't know what to do. Even if I told her how I feel, she won't feel the same. She's dating Taylor, and he's her boyfriend." He looked down at the carpet. "If only I'd told her before."  
  
"Gordo, don't go and blame yourself. Gosh, you've been through enough already!" Miranda told him.  
  
He sat in silence, thinking back to the day when she'd been giving out advice. He thought about what she'd told Gordo, when she didn't even know it was him. _Follow your heart.  
_  
"Well... I should probably get home now. Thanks." Gordo told Miranda, and got up. Thanks for nothing. He thought, but tried to be polite.  
  
"Good luck!" Miranda called after him. When he left, her head was spinning with everything Gordo had told her. She grinned, finally knowing that she was right about Gordo liking Lizzie as more than a friend. And now so much was going on between them that she couldn't even remember half of what Gordo had told her.  
  
It's not that she didn't want to be Gordo and Lizzie's friends anymore. But they'd seemed to be getting so close, that she didn't want to ruin it. So she'd started going out with Ethan, which was just fine with her! But sometimes, she did feel a little lonely for Lizzie and Gordo. She decided to call Lizzie.  
  
Back at the McGuire's house, Lizzie was in her room, working on a ton of homework. It was overwhelming, and she felt like it would never end. Part of it was that she couldn't concentrate on it. Her mind kept going back to Gordo, even though she tried so hard to keep him out of her thoughts.  
  
She was so deep in thought, that she jumped when her phone rang. She picked it up after a moment. "Hello?"  
  
"Hi Lizzie. It's Miranda."  
  
"Hey, girl! We haven't been able to talk much lately. What have you been up to?" Lizzie asked, pushing her homework aside.  
  
"Well... not too much. But Gordo just came over."  
  
"Oh." Lizzie replied, trying to sound casual. "So you're not angry at him anymore?"  
  
"Not really. We talked for a long time... and I feel sorry for him." She told her.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Well... I don't think you really made him mad. He's just really hurting, Lizzie."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Listen, why don't you talk to him? I think it'd be easier for you too understand." Miranda said. "I've got to go. It's time for dinner." She hung up.  
  
Lizzie pushed the OFF button on her phone, and set it down on her desk. Normally she might have been a bit ticked off that Miranda had talked for so short of a time, but not that day.  
  
Toon Lizzie: I don't want to be the first to admit I was wrong. But I don't want Gordo's feelings to be hurt...  
  
Lizzie heard Jo calling her for dinner, and she walked downstairs. She ate supper in silence, feeling very guilty the entire time. "Are you feeling okay, Lizzie?" Jo asked, concerned. She hadn't seen her daughter looking so depressed before.  
  
"I'm fine." Lizzie muttered, pushing the food around on her plate. "Can I be excused?"  
  
Jo nodded, still worried. Lizzie left the room, and Matt grabbed her plate. "I'll eat her share!" He exclaimed, and gobbled it down. For once he liked the supper his mom made. "Hey, I wanted it." Sam complained.  
  
Jo rolled her eyes. Then she remembered the nursery. "Sam, we haven't gone shopping for baby decorations yet. I think I'll go with Lizzie this evening." Sam nodded, not paying much attention. And it'll give me a chance to talk with her. I hope she'll be open to what's on her mind. She thought with a sigh.  
  
She got up from the table. "Matt, remember to wash the dishes." She told him. It was part of his punishment for disobeying her at the motel. Matt groaned.  
  
Jo took her purse, went up to Lizzie's room, and knocked on the door. "Honey, can I come in?"  
  
"Sure." Came the response from inside her room. Jo opened the door, and found Lizzie staring out her window.  
  
"I was going to go baby shopping while the stores are still open. I thought maybe you'd want to come with me."  
  
"Um... okay." Lizzie replied, not really wanting to go that much. They left, and Lizzie listened to her CD player the whole way there.  
  
_Not exactly the quality mother-daughter time I'd hoped for._ Jo thought to herself. They arrived at a store called Baby Central, and it had a big clown painted on the window.  
  
Lizzie blushed. _I hope no one sees me here! _She thought as she looked around the parking lot. They walked up to the store, and walked inside.  
  
They looked around for a while, picking up a few things here and there. Jo got really excited when she saw a giant shelf full of clearance baby diapers, and Lizzie blushed again. "I'm going to go look in the clothes section, okay Mom?"  
  
"Sure, Lizzie." Jo said distractedly, as she sifted through all of the different diaper brands. Lizzie hurried over to the clothes. She picked out some really cute matching jumpers, made especially for twins.  
  
After they were all done shopping, Lizzie felt a little better than she had before. It'd been good for her to get away from her problems for a while. But once they arrived back at their home, everything came back to her.  
  
She tried no to focus on Gordo, and tried to think about the great time she'd had with Taylor. _Maybe I can go out with him again soon. I sure hope so!_ She thought, a smile appearing on her face. She didn't even remembr how his feelings were hurt. 


	26. Still Likes Another Guy

The next day, Sam told Lizzie and Matt about a surprise baby shower he was planning for Jo. They were very willing to help. Matt made a guest list, Lizzie planned decorations, and Sam bought some really pretty invitations and mailed them.  
  
The baby shower was scheduled from a week from that day, and it came up faster than they'd realized. Sam remembered that he hadn't gotten a cake yet, just as some of the guests started to arrive. "Hold the fort down for a while!" He told Lizzie, and rushed to the nearest bakery.  
  
Jo was outside, relaxing on a lawn chair. She took a sip of lemonade, and fanned herself with a magazine. She had no idea that a bunch of her friends were inside her house, waiting patiently among all of the decorations Lizzie had put out perfectly. They stacked their gifts all on the table.  
  
Lizzie was stressing. Miranda had showed up, but Gordo wasn't there yet. "Do you think he'll come? I mean, I know I've been kind of a jerk... "Her voice trailed off.  
  
"I think he'll show. He's not _that_ lousy of a friend! Actually, he's a really nice friend." Miranda replied, playfully nudging her elbow into Lizzie's arm. Lizzie just rolled her eyes.  
  
Toon Lizzie: Sure, Miranda's being annoying, but feeling guilty is more annoying than that. _I'm _the one who's been the lousy friend!  
  
Once all of Jo's friends had arrived, and Sam was back with the cake, Matt called Jo. "Mo-om! Lizzie hurt me!" He pretended to whine.

"Hey, that was pretty convincing." Lizzie told him with a smile.

"I've had practice." He smiled back, and Lizzie ruffled his spiky hair.Everyone rushed to find a place to hide.

Jo slowly got up, sighing and muttering to herself, "You'd think they'd be old enough to start getting along by now..." She opened the door, and stepped inside.  
  
"Surprise!" They all yelled, jumping out from their hiding spots. Jo gasped, and took a step backward. She grinned, as everyone led her to the living room. She sat down, and everyone started chatting with her.  
  
Lizzie heard the doorbell ring. "I'll get it." She told her dad as soon as he'd gotten up from his seat. He sat back down, and tried to enjoy himself.

He'd invited Mr. Gordon to come, but he had to go to work. His work schedule was a lot different from his old one. Mrs. Gordon was visiting her mother, so she couldn't take Gordo to the shower. But he'd come on foot, making him a little late.  
  
Lizzie opened the front door, and there stood none other than Gordo. She was pleased to see him there, but didn't want to let him know that. She still didn't want to be the first to apologize, but she felt guiltier by the minute.. Her and Gordo hadn't gone on without speaking to each other for this long before.  
  
She led him inside, not saying much. Miranda was with her, and felt the tension rising. "Say, how about we go get some snacks or something from the kitchen?" She suggested. Gordo and Lizzie silently nodded, and followed her there.  
  
They got out some sodas from the fridge without saying a single word. Miranda sighed, not knowing really what to say. "So, do we have any new pictures to add to the scrapbook?"  
  
"I don't think so." Gordo replied, and took a long sip of soda. Lizzie nodded in agreement.  
  
Toon Lizzie: If this were any lamer, it'd be worse than Grubby Gulch! Though I did ended up having fun there...  
  
"Well, then let's take some." Miranda said, and they went upstairs to get Lizzie's camera. They took some and taped them into the scrapbook, but it wasn't much fun. "C'mon you guys. Cheer up! You act like today's all gloomy and clouded out."  
  
Lizzie tried to smile, but it didn't quite work out. "Want to, um, see what we've done to the nursery so far?"  
  
"Sure!" Miranda said enthusiastically, while Gordo just nodded. They walked into the room, and Miranda looked at it in amazement. "It's beautiful!" She exclaimed.  
  
"Thanks." Lizzie replied. "It's not complete yet, but it should be soon." Her friends nodded, and there was an awkward silence from there. Lizzie looked briefly into Gordo's eyes. She could tell he wanted to make up with her.  
  
Toon Lizzie: Look at those sad, puppy dog eyes!  
  
She couldn't stand it any longer. "Gordo, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have gotten so upset over nothing. I want to be friends again!" She almost shouted, breaking the silence.  
  
He looked at her, surprised. Then he smiled at her. Lizzie felt her knees melt, thought she wasn't sure why. At that moment, she forgot that she was dating Taylor. "Me too. I acted wrong." Gordo admitted. He looked into her sparkling eyes.  
  
They embraced in a quick hug, and then pulled away with a little bit of embarrassment showing on both of their faces. Gordo's heart felt like it would explode with happiness. Miranda smiled happily. _They look so cute together! _She thought with a giggle under her breath.  
  
Mrs. Gordon called them to the living room, because Jo was opening her presents. Lizzie volunteered to take pictures, and Miranda and Gordo sat down on the floor because there was nowhere left to sit. Sam and Matt also came in, and sat near them.  
  
Jo got a lot of really nice gifts, including a set of adorable pink and blue cribs for the babies from Sam, Lizzie, and Matt. They'd all chipped in to buy them for her. Jo thanked everyone warmly, and Sam told her it was time to bring out the cake. It was beautiful.  
  
The gifts were no longer on the table, so Sam put the cake there. He cut pieces for everyone, as passed them around. Once Miranda, Lizzie, and Gordo had all got their cake, they went out on the deck.  
  
They sat down at the table, and started eating. But Gordo wasn't paying attention to his cake like he usually would. He could hardly keep his eyes off of Lizzie.  
  
_She looks so gorgeous._ He thought. But he tried to make himself stop thinking things like that. _Get a hold of yourself, Gordo! She likes another guy._  
  
He didn't feel like being at the baby shower anymore. He wanted to run home and mope. Sure, Lizzie and him had made up, but she'd said, "I want to be friends again", not, "Gordo, I'm so sorry. I love you!"  
  
"Hey, um, I forgot about this homework thing I have to do. Thanks for inviting me." He told Lizzie.  
  
"You're leaving already?" Miranda asked disappointedly. She'd hoped Gordo would work up the courage to share with Lizzie how he felt about her. She had planned to leave them alone while she "went inside for some more soda" so they could talk.  
  
"Yeah... it's kind of important. But I had a good time." He replied, and took his paper plate inside to throw away.  
  
"Bye Gordo." Lizzie told him. "Thanks for coming."  
  
And that's the way things went for a very long time. Lizzie continued to date Taylor, and Gordo never told Lizzie. Would it ever end?


	27. Now Taylor's Jealous!

It was nearing the end of May, and Lizzie, Gordo and Miranda only had a week left of school. Jo was getting really big, and her due date was in just a couple of days.  
  
Matt had gotten goldfish for a school project, and they ended up freezing because Jo had the air-conditioning set so cold. Matt disappointedly flushed the fish. "I can't ever have any pets that live!" He exclaimed, and pulled his jacket closer to him in the cold house.  
  
That day, Lizzie was at the Digital Bean with Miranda and Gordo to study. They sat down at a table, and ordered a burger each for themselves. That's when Taylor walked in, and spotted Lizzie. He walked over to her.  
  
Taylor thought he was just going to be a transfer student, but he and his family had ended up moving to America, because his dad found a great job opening there. Lizzie, of course, was glad, but it had taken all Gordo had inside him not to say something unpleasant about it.  
  
"Hey Taylor! Want to sit with us?" She asked before Gordo could say anything. He glared at him, and shook his head.  
  
"Sure." He brought a fourth chair from another table. "So, who's you're friend?" He asked, looking at Miranda.  
  
Toon Lizzie: He-llo, you're dating _me_ here!  
  
"Um, this is Miranda." Lizzie replied, and took a sip of a drink she'd ordered.  
  
"And I'm Gordo." Gordo said, feeling a twinge of jealousy because Lizzie didn't introduce him. Taylor nodded, and they ate and studied for a while without saying much.  
  
Miranda looked at her watch. "Hey guys, sorry I got to run, but I'll be late for my date with Ethan if I don't get going."  
  
"I didn't know you had a date today." Lizzie replied. "I was hoping we could spend some time together. I haven't been able to see you much lately."

Miranda apoligized. "It's just... things have been going so great between Ethan and me. I'm sorry if I've been kind ignoring you guys." She told Lizzie and Gordo.

"We understand." Gordo told her. "Have a good time." Miranda thanked him, and left. Lizzie called out a good-bye as she started to leave, and Miranda waved.

Gordo squirmed uncomfortably in his chair. Sitting there with his best friend, while she was sitting there with her boyfriend. He thought up an excuse to leave.  
  
"Hey, um, I have to go, too. My mom wanted me back by now to do some chores and stuff." He told Lizzie, standing up.  
  
"Al right. See you later!" She replied, and he left.  
  
"Well, guess it's just you and me." Taylor said with a twinkle in his eye. He reached across the table, and held Lizzie's hand. Normally, Lizzie would have enjoyed it. But the way Gordo had left so quickly nagged at her brain. "What's wrong?" Taylor asked, sensing tension.  
  
"Oh... it's nothing." She said, and ate the last of her burger. Taylor didn't quite think it was nothing, but said no more about it. After studying for a while longer, Taylor walked Lizzie home.  
  
Once they were up on the porch, Taylor smiled at Lizzie. "I have a lot of fun with you, Lizzie." He slowly leaned over, and kissed her on the cheek. Lizzie smiled, but felt didn't feel as happy as she looked. Her smile didn't fool him, though. "Lizzie, I think something is wrong. You don't want to be my boyfriend?"  
  
Lizzie was surprised that he'd asked her straight out like that. She looked down at the ground. "Taylor... I really don't know what to think."  
  
Taylor held Lizzie hand in his. "Is there someone else?"  
  
"Taylor, I don't want your feelings to be hurt, but I think there is. You know Gordo?" He nodded slowly. "Well... he seems to like as more than a best friend. And he seems to be jealous and hurt every time I'm with you."  
  
"So you're kind of between a rock and a hard place?"  
  
"Exactly." She looked up into his eyes. They were growing colder by the second. "I just don't know what to do."  
  
"You like him the same way?"  
  
"Taylor, I don't know... this has been going on for a long time and-"  
  
"We've been dating all this time, and you led me to believe you liked me when you really like someone else?"

"But I might not! I don't know if I do!"

"I should have known not to trust you good-for-nothing Americans!" He burst out.  
  
"Taylor, it's not how you think it is. I-"Lizzie tried to tell him.  
  
"Save, it Lizzie!"  
  
"But Taylor!"  
  
"I don't want to have a girlfriend that treats me like dirt." He said, and stormed off. Lizzie just stood there, not knowing what to think.   
  
"Taylor broke up with me." She said to herself, confused. Normally she'd be crushed by something like this... but she didn't feel very sad, for some reason. All her thoughts kept going back to Gordo. _So kinds... so caring...not really like Taylor at all.  
_  
She walked slowly inside, and up to her room. She shut the door to her room, and lay on her bed for a long time. She watched some TV, but it was dull. She turned it off. She couldn't stand it anymore. She had to talk to Gordo.  
  
Lizzie picked up her phone, and dialed his number. "Hi Gordo. It's Lizzie."  
  
"Hi Lizzie! What's up?" Gordo asked, glad to hear the sound of her voice.  
  
"Well... Taylor broke up with me." She said. There was a pause, because Gordo wasn't quite sure what to say. He was thrilled at this news, but he didn't want Lizzie to know that.  
  
"Gee, I'm... sorry." He said, trying to sound sincere. He bit his lip nervously. "What happened?"  
  
"It's... kind of hard to explain. Can we talk about it in person? Like, maybe we could go to the skating rink again tomorrow?" She asked hopefully.  
  
Toon Lizzie: Things like this can't just be talked about over the phone! (Throws away a phone she has in her hand)  
  
"Sounds good to me. How about I pick you up, about one tomorrow?" Lizzie agreed, and Gordo grinned a huge grin. Just him and Lizzie, skating together without Taylor there to ruin things!  
  
Lizzie said good-bye, and they hung up. She tried to plan out in her head what she was going to say to him the next day.


	28. Gordo's Surprise

It was 12:45, and Lizzie was preparing herself for skating with Gordo. She put her blond hair up into a hair scrunchie, and fiddled with it for a while.  
  
Toon Lizzie: How in the world am I going to explain why Taylor got upset? It'll be telling him straight out that I think he likes me!  
  
After a few minutes, Lizzie got irritated and pulled the scrunchie out. She flopped down onto her soft bed, and looked down at her clothes to make sure they didn't have any stains. Matt hadn't pulled any pranks lately, which made her suspicious.  
  
She let that thought pass, and looked at her reflection in the mirror. And at Gordo's house, he was looking at his own reflection.  
  
He was sitting on his new bed, surrounded only by a few pieces of cheap furniture. His parents still couldn't afford to buy anything fancy. He let his eyes wander away from the pocket mirror he was holding, and they fell onto a picture frame.  
  
Framed in it was a new picture of Lizzie that had been taken at the baby shower. The frame wasn't as pretty as the gold one that he use to have, but Lizzie's smile made up for it. He sighed with pleasure, knowing that Taylor was no longer Lizzie's boyfriend.  
  
He knew he should be feeling sympathetic for Lizzie, but he wasn't. _She didn't sound _too_ upset about it on the phone. That's a good start._ He thought, and glanced at the time. He decided that he should get on over to Lizzie's, and left.  
  
Lizzie was waiting nervously on the front steps, still unsure as to what to say to Gordo. She knew the subject would come up quickly at the rink, and she didn't want to sound lame. A couple minutes later, she saw Gordo coming around the corner. She quickly opened the front door, and yelled, "Bye Mom!" to Jo. She was lying on the couch, and groaned a good-bye.  
  
Lizzie closed the door, and she heard Jo yelling for Sam to turn down the air conditioner as she walked down the driveway. Gordo caught up to her, and smiled. "Hey Lizzie."  
  
"Hi." She replied, swinging her purse over her shoulder. They walked without saying much, and Lizzie's head swam with nervousness. She tried to appear as calm as possible, as they approached the skating rink. The rental shop outside of the rink came into view, and they both rented a pair of skates.  
  
They sat down on padded benches, and Gordo helped Lizzie put hers on when she was having trouble. His hand brushed hers, and his ears turned slightly red. Neither one quite considered this a date, but Gordo silently wished to himself that it was.  
  
He started imagining to himself what it'd actually be like for Lizzie to call him her boyfriend, when she snapped him out of it. "Are you going to put yours on?" Lizzie asked with a slight chuckle.  
  
"Oh! Yeah, I was just... making sure the rental man gave me the right size." He replied. Lizzie knew he hadn't been looking at his skates, but rather staring off into space. She didn't say anything about it, though.  
  
Gordo slipped on his skates, tied them up, and the two friends tried to walk into the rink. Lizzie, being a klutz as usual, fell down after only two steps with her skates on. Gordo helped her up, wanting to hold her hand longer than he needed to get her off the ground. He didn't though, and let go.  
  
They managed to get onto the rink without tripping, and slowly started to skate around. They got faster as time went by, not falling down quite as much as they had the last time.  
  
"So..." Gordo said, feeling his palms go sweaty, "What happened with Taylor?" Lizzie sighed.  
  
Toon Lizzie: I was just having a good time, too!  
  
She took a deep breath, and tried to gather up her courage. "It started when he walked me home from the Digital Bean. He got the feeling that something was on my mind, and asked me about it."  
  
"Was there?" He asked, slowing down to adjust his skate. Lizzie slowed down, too.  
  
"Yeah..." She said hesitantly. "I... well, thought that someone else likes me... and that just maybe I do, too. And he got jealous." There. She'd said it.  
  
"Oh." He didn't want to be nosy and ask _who_, although he was dying to know. He was starting to become angry again that yet someone else was getting in the way of him and Lizzie! "So, do you think you know now? If, you know, you like this guy?" He tried to say casually.  
  
They'd stopped skating by now. She looked into his eyes, and just stood there for a moment in thought. Finally she said, "Yes. I do know." She told him. She leaned over, and kissed him. After a moment, she slowly pulled away.  
  
"Lizzie..." He started to say, but didn't know how to finish his sentence. Surprised, yet pleased, he was unsure what to say next. Both were smiling kind of sheepishly.  
  
Toon Lizzie: Did I just do that? Did I just... _kiss Gordo_?  
  
She looked at him. He looked back at her, joy filling his eyes. _It me she just kissed. Not Ethan. Not Ronnie. Not Taylor. But me! Unnoticed, short me!_ He thought with a satisfied sigh.

* * *

Back at the McGuire house, Jo surprised Sam by telling him that it was her time to leave for the hospital. In their hurry, they forgot all about Lizzie. Luckily they didn't have to worry about forgetting Matt.  
  
As soon as he'd heard Jo yell, he'd raced outside and hopped into the McGuire's vehicle. With video camera in hand, he taped his parents rushing in with him, Sam frantically rushing back in the house to get his wallet he'd left, and then racing to the hospital. She winced several times, and held onto her stomach.  
  
She breathed hard, as contractions slowly getting closer together. "Sam, hurry!" She exclaimed.  
  
"I'm goin' as fast as I can!" He snapped, and apologized soon after. All this pressure was really getting to him. They arrive a few minutes later, Sam signed them in, and a nurse led Jo to a room. Sam soon followed, with Matt right behind him, taping the whole thing.  
  
It never occurred to them once they Lizzie still didn't know, until Sam glanced down at a picture in his wallet of her after putting his drivers license back into it. His eyes opened wide. "We forgot about Lizzie!" He told Matt in panic, and grabbed his cell phone. "I don't know the number of the skating rink she was going to!" He groaned.  
  
They were now in the room Jo had been put in, now dressed in a hospital gown with little teddy bears and balloons printed all over it. Matt zoomed in on that, letting out a chuckle.  
  
"Jo, Lizzie doesn't know. I can't reach her!" He told her, waving the cell phone in the air. Jo sighed. This was the last thing she had on her mind right then!  
  
"Just... see if someone here has a phonebook!" She told him, grasping the plastic bedpost as another contraction came. He nodded quickly, mumbling that he'd come back soon, as rushed out of the room.  
  
Matt was enjoying getting all of this on tape, and zoomed in on the pained look on Jo's face. He didn't feel glad that she was going through pain or anything, but it was interesting to him since he was the youngest and hadn't seen this before.  
  
Lizzie and Gordo were still at the rink. Gordo never finished his sentence after the kiss, and they were just kind of staring at each other. They were interrupted when they heard someone called Lizzie over a loudspeaker.  
  
"Lizzie McGuire, please come to the front desk. I repeat, Lizzie McGuire, come to the front desk. Thank you!" Lizzie gave Gordo a puzzled look, and he shrugged. Slightly embarrassed, her and Gordo tromped to the front desk with their skates still on. A guy with the nametag "John" handed her a phone.  
  
"You're father wants to talk to you." He told her, and Lizzie took the phone, with a little bit of impatience.  
  
Toon Lizzie: Why would Dad have to call me _now_? What in the world is so important that can't wait?  
  
"Hello? Dad?" She asked. 


	29. The Perfect Day

"Hi Lizzie. Look, we're at the hospital right now. Your mother's gone into labor-"  
  
"Labor? Now?!" Lizzie exclaimed. Gordo, not wanting to be rude, but wanted to know what Sam was saying, put his ear up to the phone. His face was just inches away from Lizzie's.  
  
"Yes. I'm sure your mother would really like you here, and Gordo could come if he'd like. Could you take a taxi? The room number your mom's in is 156." Sam said, trying to hear Lizzie over the noisy sounds of the busy hospital.  
  
"Okay, Dad. I'll be there as soon as I can." She promised. She pushed the OFF button on the phone, and handed it to John. She turned to Gordo. "My dad wants us to get to the hospital because my mom is going into labor. He said to take a taxi." She told him.  
  
He nodded, already knowing this from listening in. They hurried outside, got a taxi, and asked the man driving it to please hurry! Lizzie was a little stressed out at this point, and Gordo tried to cheer her up. "Just think Lizzie, you'll have two new siblings. You can watch them take their first step, say their first word..." His voice trailed off.  
  
Lizzie nodded, starting to imagine just what it was going to be like. She imagined being stuck in the nursery, changing smelly diapers, and her friends not wanting to come over because Lizzie would be too busy for them.  
  
Gordo saw her frown at something she was thinking. "What's wrong?"  
  
"You'll still want to come over and stuff when the babies are born, right?" She asked, concerned.  
  
_And here I was thinking they wouldn't want me over because of them!_ He thought with a chuckle. "Lizzie, of course I'll still visit you! I've never had any siblings... so it'll be fun for me to help you with the babies." He smiled reassuringly.  
  
"Thanks Gordo." She said. He always knows how to make me feel better. She thought, feeling her knees melt. Gordo sat there thinking of what Lizzie had told him._ "Yes. I do know."  
_  
They looked into each other's eyes. Lizzie had finally figured out that she liked Gordo, something that she bet Gordo had wanted for a long time. But she didn't want to rush things. She still couldn't believe that she'd actually kissed her best friend... but she'd enjoyed it at the same time.  
  
"We're at your destination, ma'am." The taxi driver told Lizzie. She thanked and paid him, and her and Gordo got out of the taxi. Gordo closed the door behind him, and the two walked through the parking lot of the hospital. They went inside, and found their way to room 156.  
  
Lizzie peeked inside, and saw her family there. She rushed over to Jo. "How are you feeling?"  
  
"Still here." She replied, and tried to smile at her daughter through her pain. "Did you have a good time skating?"  
  
Toon Lizzie: Did I? What kind of question is that? (Jumps up and down)  
  
Lizzie nodded. "The best." She sat down on a chair near her, and Gordo pulled one up next to Lizzie. She held Jo's hand as she went through a contraction.  
  
"Would you like me to get you anything? Gordo asked her, trying to be helpful. He also wanted Lizzie and Jo to be able to have some mother-daughter time, as much as he wanted to be with Lizzie.  
  
"Yes, some ice water would be great." Jo told him. He nodded and went out into the hallway. He eventually found a soda machine, but it didn't have an option for water. Gordo sighed. He could have gotten some water from one of the water fountains, but it wouldn't have ice like Jo wanted.

So he looked and looked, and finally found the hospital cafeteria, where one of the serving women there gave him a cold glass of water with ice in it.  
  
He thanked her, and eventually found Jo's room. "Here, Mrs. McGuire." He handed her the glass. Jo smiled, and drank the contents of the glass quickly. She leaned back on her bed, and sighed.  
  
"From what the doctor's said, it's still going to be quite a while." Sam told Matt, Lizzie, and Gordo, hinting for them to leave. He wanted to be alone for a while. "You might want to go to the waiting room. There's a TV and some books in there."  
  
Matt reluctantly left, with Lizzie and Gordo not far behind him. They walked to the waiting room, and sat down amongst all of the others in the room. They all looked bored and tired.  
  
Toon Lizzie: I bet we'll look like that after a while, too! (Falls asleep, snoring)  
  
Gordo wanted to sit next to Lizzie who was on the end, but Matt beat him to it with a annoying grin on his face. He wanted to be next to Lizzie so he could to irritate her. "Matt, go sit somewhere else." She whispered to him, trying not to disturb the others in the room. Matt flat-out refused, crossing his arms.  
  
Lizzie rolled her eyes and picked up a book that was lying on the floor beside her chair. It was called, David and Elisabeth. Her mouth hung open for a moment. She flipped through the pages. It was a little kiddie book, but she didn't care.  
  
Matt chuckled. "Still like baby books huh?" Lizzie ignored him.  
  
"Gordo, look at this." She passed the book down to him. His eyebrows went up as he read the title. The characters on the front cover look a teeny bit like Lizzie and Gordo. The boy had brown hair, and the girl had blond hair. They were at kindergarten, playing with blocks.  
  
"Wow." Gordo replied, and handed the book back to Lizzie. What a coincidence." Lizzie nodded, and slowly laid the book where she'd found it. She tried to shake the images of the characters from her mind, and watched the tiny TV in the waiting room.  
  
It was turned to one of those dull news channels, and Lizzie soon found her eyelids getting heavier. She leaned her head on the back of her chair, and closed her eyes, thoughts and images of that day swirling through her mind.

And the next thing she knew, someone was shaking her shoulder and telling her to get up. "I'll get up in a minute, Mom." She mumbled sleepily.  
  
"No, it's me, Gordo!" Gordo told her. "You're mom's... uh, ready to push." He told her, stumbling on the words. Sam had just sent a nurse in the waiting room to tell them, and Gordo had thanked her. "C'mon, Lizzie."  
  
"Oh!" Lizzie said, who was now wide-awake. Her, Gordo, and Matt all rushed to Jo's room. Lizzie and Gordo sat down on hard chairs near Jo. Matt however, got sent back to the waiting room by the doctor. Kids younger than thirteen were not aloud to watch, due to "rules and regulations of the hospital", a nurse told him  
  
Matt tried to protest, but finally gave in when he found out that complementary doughnuts were being served in the waiting room.  
  
Toon Lizzie: Food gets him every time!  
  
Sam held Jo's hand, while the nurse and doctor counted. "One, two, three push!" Jo groaned as she pushed, and let a big breath of air. "One, two, three push! Push, push, push!" The nurse and doctor coaxed.  
  
This went on for a while. Lizzie nervously watched her mom. Thoughts ran through her head. _What if something happens to the twins? I've heard that a lot of times they have birth defects. Or what if Mom looses them?_  
  
Gordo sensed her fear, and tried to reassure her that the babies would be fine. "Just relax, Lizzie." He smiled, and started thinking about what had gone on at the skating rink that day.  
  
He was so deep in thought, that when the nurse yelled, "One's out!" he jumped. A couple of minutes later, she told them that the other was out. She rinsed off the babies with expert hands, and wrapped them in pink and blue striped blankets. She snuggly fit a cap on their heads, and handed the babies to Jo and Sam.  
  
Lizzie smiled at them. For her, it had turned out to be a perfect day.


	30. Mad Miranda

The next day however, was not quite so perfect. It wasn't the twins. In fact, Lizzie was around them every second she could, she thought they were so cute. And even changing them wasn't so hard once she'd gotten used to it.  
  
But she'd been so caught up with everything that she completely forgot about Miranda. She called that day, while Lizzie was holding one of the twins, Keith. The girl had been named Lesley (after some favorite cousin of Jo's), and was currently in Gordo's hands. He was over helping the McGuire's.  
  
Lizzie sighed, and put Keith back into his crib. She finally got to the phone on the fifth ring, and picked it up. "Hello?"  
  
"H-Hi Lizzie." It's... Miranda." A distressed Miranda said into her phone. She wiped a tear way from her eye, and took a shaky breath.  
  
"Miranda, are you okay?" Lizzie asked, now with a worried frown on her face. Gordo had walked over to her, still holding Lesley. He gently rocked her.  
  
Toon Lizzie: Wow, Gordo's great with kids! (Feeds a baby in a highchair a spoonful of green baby food)  
  
He mouthed to her, _what's wrong?_ Lizzie just shook her head at him, waiting for Miranda to answer. "Ethan... he broke up with me." Miranda told her, sniffling.  
  
"Oh, Miranda... I'm so sorry." Lizzie said. "That's awful!"  
  
"What is?" Gordo whispered. Lizzie waved her hand at him, trying to get him to be quiet so she could listen to Miranda. Gordo rolled his eyes and sighed impatiently.  
  
"Yeah... would you mind if m-maybe I could come over?" She asked Lizzie hopefully. "I'd really like to talk with you about it." She twirled a strand of her dark hair around her finger.  
  
"Of course, Miranda! That'd be fine." Lizzie said reassuringly. "That is, of course, if you don't mind Keith and Lesley." She turned to Gordo and stroked Lesley's thin mass of hair with a smile.  
  
"Keith and Lesley?" Miranda asked, clearly confused. She stopped twirling her hair.  
  
"Yeah, the twins. Remember?" Lizzie replied. _How could Miranda forget that my mom had twins yesterday? It's not that hard of a thing to remember!_ She thought with a puzzled look on her face.  
  
"Oh, you're parents decided on names for them?" Miranda replied, with one final sniffle. She drank of sip of water from a glass she was holding.  
  
"Well of course they did. How can babies be born and not have names?" Lizzie asked, one eyebrow going up.  
  
"Born? What are you saying, Lizzie?"  
  
Then it hit Lizzie. She hadn't told Miranda! "Oh my gosh, Miranda. I am _so_ sorry! I totally forgot to tell you-"  
  
"That your mom had the twins?" She burst out. "I can't believe it, Lizzie!"

"Miranda, I had a ton on my mind-"

"How in the world can you not tell your best friend something like that?!" Miranda exclaimed.

"Miranda, I said I'm sorry!"

"Sorry doesn't help! You couldn't take just a few minutes of your precious time to call me up? I wanted to be with you and your mom in the delivery room! I was going to take pictures and everything...." Miranda started to sniffle again. "I just can't believe you didn't call!" She slammed the phone down.  
  
Toon Lizzie: I guess that means she's not coming over now!  
  
Lizzie sat wearily down on a barstool. She rested her hand on her chin, and tried to sort out everything that had just happened.  
  
Gordo, sat down on a stool next to her. Seeing she was upset, he didn't exactly want to poke into her business. But Miranda still was one of his best friends, even if he didn't see her that often. "What was all that about?" He asked gently, with Lesley still in his arms. She let out a soft cry, and Gordo patted her on the back.  
  
"Gordo, I'm such a horrible friend! I forgot to tell Miranda about the twins!" Now she was the one who was sniffling. Why does this kind of thing always happen to me? And now she's mad at me and..." Her voice trailed off.   
  
"Look, Lizzie. This is totally not your fault. You're mind was on skating, your mom, getting to the hospital... and you practically conked out in the waiting room with sleepiness."  
  
He looked up at her and smiled. She tried to smile back, but she still felt guilty. "Matt taped a lot of the delivery, right? And when we had to go to the waiting room, your dad taped it. Miranda can watch that."  
  
"Yeah... but, Gordo, it just won't be the same. I know I'd want to be where the action is instead of watching some dumb ol' tape of it happening. Not to say your idea was bad, but it's...it's just not what she wanted." Lizzie told him, looking down at her black zipper-up boots.  
  
Gordo nodded, and didn't really know what else to say. They heard Keith crying from the nursery, and Jo called wearily, "I'll take care of him, Lizzie!"  
  
"Okay, Mom!" Lizzie yelled back. Just then, Matt came out from wherever he'd been hiding.  
  
"Man, how much can those babies scream?" He complained out loud as he took an apple from the fridge. He was so tired of the babies already, and it was just the first day of having them home.  
  
"Why don't you go to Lanny's? That way we can get rid of you!" Lizzie told him.  
  
"Not funny!" He told her, glaring. He took a bite of his apple. "Oh, and by the way, you have something on your shirt." She looked down at her purple quarter-sleeved shirt with sparkles on it, but didn't find any stains.

"Where?" She asked as she continued to search her shirt.

"Made you look!" Matt chuckled, and raced out of the room before Lizzie could even threaten to pound him. Lizzie rolled her eyes, and her thoughts came back to her problem.  
  
Gordo also had a problem. Lizzie had indicated she liked him at the skating rink, but was showing no signs of it now. _Has she changed her mind?_ He thought, hoping it wasn't that.

What he really wanted to do was ask her out to find out, but he felt too dorky. _She'd probably be too busy with the twins, anyway._ He thought with a sigh.  
  
"Gordo, can you do me a favor?" Lizzie asked. He looked up at her and snapped out of his thought.

"Sure, Lizzie." He replied. "Anything for you." He blushed, not actually meaning for that to come out.

Lizzie stiffled a giggle. "Could you help out with the twins without me for a while? I need to go talk to Miranda and get things straightened out."  
  
"Okay." Gordo told her, a little disappointed. It wasn't the work. He loved helping out with the twins. But one of the main reasons he'd come over to help was because Lizzie would be there!


	31. Sick and Sullen

Lizzie hurried to Miranda's. Still in disbelief that she'd forgotten to tell her about the twins, she hoped that somehow she could make it up to her. She arrived at her house, and took a deep breath. She knocked lightly on the front door.  
  
No one answered, so she figured that they hadn't heard her. She knocked again, harder this time. But there was still no response. She tried ringing the doorbell, and finally she could see someone walking towards her through the small window on the door.  
  
The person peered out of the window, and Lizzie saw it was Miranda. "Go away, you... you..." Miranda tried to say, hot tears in her eyes.  
  
"Miranda, let me in! I really, really need to talk with you!" Lizzie pleaded. She could see Miranda glaring at her from inside. She shook her head, and stomped away from the door. "Miranda, come back!" Lizzie shouted, but Miranda kept on walking.  
  
Defeated and feeling deflated like a burst balloon, Lizzie frowned. She went back home, not knowing what else to do.  
  
When she got there and walked inside, she heard the twins crying from the nursery. She walked towards the sound, and sneaked a peek inside the doorway. Gordo sat in a rocking chair inside the room, holding Lesley. Jo was in the rocker next to him, holding Keith.  
  
Lizzie smiled, feeling her troubles slightly lift from her, and walked inside. "Hi Mom; hi Gordo." She said to them. "How's it going?"  
  
"As well as can be expected." Jo said with a slightly weary smile. "I keet having to breast-feed them a lot lately. Gets a bit, tiring, you know?"

"Mom!" Lizzie exclaimed, not believing that she'd said that in front of Gordo.

"Oh gosh, Lizzie, Gordo understands. Don't be embarrassed." Jo replied, but still Lizzie felt her cheeks turn pink. "I'm really tired. I stayed up almost all night trying to get them to be quiet!" Jo told her daughter, slightly hinting.  
  
"Yeah, I heard them." Lizzie replied. "You know what, why don't you let us take over for a while? You should get some rest." She told Jo, eyeing the dark circles under her eyes.  
  
Jo yawned. "Well, If you're sure it's not too much trouble..."  
  
"No trouble at all!" Gordo replied. Yes! Time to spend with Lizzie! He thought to himself. Trying to act casual, although he was overjoyed. Jo nodded and thanked them, put Keith into his crib, and wearily walked upstairs.  
  
She went into her room, closed the door behind her, and flopped onto her large bed. As soon as her head hit her pillow, it was off to dreamland!  
  
"So how did things go with Miranda?" Gordo asked Lizzie. She slightly frowned, and Gordo felt bad for bringing the subject up._ I should have just let her talk about it when she was ready!_ He thought, irritated with himself.  
  
"Well..." Lizzie hesitated. "She wouldn't even let me in."  
  
"Gee, that's rough." Gordo said with a sympathetic look on his face. He set Lesley down in her crib next to Keith's and him and Lizzie sat in the rocking chairs next to each other.  
  
Lizzie nodded. "I wish she hadn't gotten so upset. I mean it's not like I purposely didn't tell her or something!" She looked down at the blue carpet in the nursery.  
  
Gordo knew this was an extremely bad time, but he just didn't want to wait any longer. "Um, Lizzie..."  
  
"Yes?" She replied, looking up at him.  
  
"Uh... I..." He felt geekier by the second. "I-I... think Keith needs changed!" He burst out, and then felt like crawling under the cribs and dying right there. He hit his forehead when Lesley's head was turned to Keith.  
  
She sniffed, and shook her head. "No, I don't think so." She told him.  
  
Toon Lizzie: Okay, that is _so_ not what he wanted to say! He just can't ever seem to tell me anything! (Rolls eyes at the little robot Gordo)  
  
"Oh... okay." He said lamely. Now at a loss for words, he hoped that Lizzie would make conversation! She bit her lip, trying to think of something to say.  
  
"Hey, we haven't taken many new photos lately for the scrapbook, have we?" She asked.  
  
"You're right. We could take pictures of us with the twins." Gordo replied, glad that she'd found something to talk about. Lizzie retrieved her camera, and for a while they snapped a ton of pictures.  
  
After taking a ton of photos, Lizzie set down the camera and laughed. "Can you believe we used an entire roll?" She smiled as she took it out of the camera. She thought of how cool all the photos would look in the scrapbook.

Gordo nodded. The conversation was coming to a lull again, and he decided it'd be a good time to get going. "Hey Lizzie, my mom wanted me back home by now". He told her, pretending to glance nervously at the Winnie-The-Pooh clock hung up in the nursery.  
  
"Okay." Lizzie replied. "See you later, Gordo!" He waved and left the McGuire's. Lizzie was now by herself with the twins. Just as she was starting to get relaxed, she felt like she had to sneeze. "Ah... ah...."  
  
That's when Matt sneaked suddenly up on her while her eyes were closed and yelled, "Don't sneeze!" It stopped it, and Lizzie glared at him.  
  
"Matt, how many times have I told you not to do that?" She asked angrily.  
  
"Too many!" Matt laughed and raced out of the nursery, sticking his tongue at her as he left. Lizzie sighed.

Toon Lizzie: I hope that the twins won't be like him when they got older!

* * *

The next day, Lizzie woke up feeling hot. Her nose felt stuffed up, and she sighed groggily. Her alarm clock was buzzing noisily in her ear, but she couldn't seem to make herself get up. A few minutes later, she heard the sound of her door opening.  
  
"Lizzie, time to get up." She heard someone tell her, and she opened up one eye. Jo was standing there.  
  
"Mom, I don't feel good." She replied, and swalloed. She found that her throat was sore, too, and she closed her eyes.  
  
Jo walked over to her, concerned. "Honey, what's wrong?" Lizzie explained, and Jo felt of her forehead. "Lizzie, you're burning up!" Jo exclaimed. "I'll be right back. Stay right there."  
  
Toon Lizzie: Not like I wouldn't! (Sneezes and blows her nose)  
  
Jo came back a couple minutes later, with a thermometer and a damp cloth. She placed the cloth on Lizzie's forehead, and told Lizzie to open her mouth. She obeyed, and Jo stuck the thermometer in.  
  
It beeped when it was ready. Jo took it out, and read it out loud. "100.2 degrees!" She exclaimed. "No school for you today, young lady."  
  
"But I wanted to talk with Miranda." Lizzie complained, and rubbed her neck. Her throat really hurt.  
  
"Sorry, Lizzie. You'll have to talk with her some other time." Jo told her sick daughter, not knowing about the fight they'd had. She poured Lizzie a spoonful of medicine for colds, and asked her if she wanted anything else.  
  
Toon Lizzie: Of course I want something! I want Miranda to forgive me! (Sighs and slurps down a bowl of soup) 


	32. Miranda and Taylor?

That day at Lizzie's school, Gordo sat with loneliness in his arithmetic class. He wondered where Lizzie was, and wished at Kate's party they'd gone to really had had cell phones for party favors. That way he could have called her up.  
  
In Miranda's arithmetic class, she was sitting next to Taylor. Just to make Lizzie jealous, she'd become quite friendly with him lately. Grinning with satisfaction, she passed notes back and forth him while her teacher's back was turned. _If only Lizzie could see me now!_ She thought with a smile.  
  
Back at the McGuire's house, Lizzie was still lying in bed. She pulled the covers closer to her as she shivered with a fever. A few minutes later, she became hot and tossed the sheets off.  
  
She groaned groggily, and took a sip of water from a glass Jo had set on her nightstand. It hurt her throat as it went down, and she set the glass down with a frown._ I never thought I could get so sick in such a short time!_ She thought to herself.  
  
More thoughts passed through her mind, which were mostly about what Miranda had said on the phone. She wished there was some way she could make it up to her friend, but she couldn't think of any.  
  
She soon fell asleep, dreaming of unpleasant things. Swirled mages of Miranda screaming at her raced through her head, and in her sleep her forehead became sweaty.  
  
The school day slowly passed for Gordo. When the school bell finally rang in his last class, he walked quickly to the bus stop. He got on the bus, and found Miranda on it. He wanted to explain that Lizzie was really sorry about what happened, but then he saw that she was sitting next to Taylor.  
  
His eyes narrowed at him, and he decided to sit in the way back of the bus away from him. When the bus arrived at his stop, he said a quick "hi" to Miranda on his way out, purposely not looking at Taylor. She didn't even notice him, and kept on talking.  
  
Gordo frowned, and got off of the bus. He walked home, went inside, and did his homework. He couldn't concentrate much, but tried his best to get it done. Once it was finally completed, he grabbed his phone and dialed Lizzie's phone number.  
  
He heard Matt answer the phone. "Yo', Matt here. Talk to me!"  
  
Gordo chuckled under his breath. _Matt's probably gone into another try- to-be-cool stage like the time he wanted to be called M-Dog!_ He thought to himself. "Hi Matt. Is Lizzie home?" He asked him.  
  
"Yeah, but I don't think she wants to talk to you, dude." He replied, chewing a piece of gum.  
  
"Why?" Gordo asked, suddenly worried. "Did I say something to make her upset?"  
  
"Nah, that's not what I meant, bro'. She's sick." He looked in his mirror, and spiked his hair up some more with a big handful of slimy gel.  
  
"Oh, I didn't know. Well, tell her I say I hope she feels better, Matt." Gordo told him, and hung up. He set his phone back on its hook, and sat down on his bed. He wished there was something he could do, but if he went over to the McGuire's to try and help cheer her up, he risked getting sick, too.  
  
He sighed with frustration, and looked longingly at the picture of Lizzie. He smiled, laid his head down on his pillow, and soon fell asleep with pleasant thoughts of how she had kissed him.  
  
He awoke a few hours later when Mrs. Gordon called from downstairs that it was time for supper. He rubbed his eyes, and got up from his bed. He walked to the dining room, his hair still a mess from sleeping.  
  
"David, ever heard of a hairbrush?" His dad teased, and passed him a steaming plate of meatloaf. Gordo didn't reply, but took the plate with eagerness. He ate hungrily, and had seconds, too.  
  
But at the McGuire's table, Lizzie sat at a chair, just staring at her food. She had a roll of tissue paper sitting next to her, and frowned. Just the thought of food made her feel sicker. "Mom, I'm not really hungry." She told Jo.  
  
"I'll eat her share any day, dude!" Matt exclaimed, and reached for her plate. Jo gave him one of those stop-acting-like-that looks. He rolled his eyes, and wolfed down Lizzie's food.  
  
"Matt, rolling your eyes at me is a display of disrespect. Unless you can treat me better, you'll be grounded, young man." Jo told him seriously, and Lizzie walked up to her room.  
  
She felt a little woozy going up all of the steps, and fell onto her bed as soon as she got there. She soon fell asleep, with a cold cloth on her forehead to help break her fever.  
  
It felt to her like the next day would never come, but eventually it did. She woke up feeling somewhat better, and even felt like getting up. She blew her nose several times, but she didn't feel anywhere as near bad as she had the day before.  
  
She got dressed, and she turned on her computer. She signed on to instant messenger, but then rolled her eyes at herself. _Duh! All my friends are at school!_ She signed off.  
  
And they were, or at least Gordo. Miranda didn't consider Lizzie her friend now, and was actually not just pretending to like being around Taylor anymore. She'd been having a great time with him.  
  
This made Gordo upset, and he got her aside at lunch. "Miranda, he's not good guy to be hanging around with! Remember how he dumped Lizzie?"  
  
"Gordo, why do you always have to exaggerate? Taylor is really sweet! And if I'd been in his place, I would have dumped Lizzie, too! He told me all about how she liked you instead of him." She told him hotly, and joined him at a table.  
  
"You really think she likes me?" He asked, now changing the subject of Taylor. "I mean, she kind of did indicate that to me... but she hasn't mentioned it since." Gordo told Miranda.  
  
"Gosh, Gordo, before you always used to be the one with the answers! And now you never seem to now what to do." Miranda chuckled. Gordo raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Miranda, it really isn't funny, you know." He scolded. Miranda didn't pay attention to that, and went on talking about Taylor. Finally Gordo raised his hands in the air. "Miranda, if that's all your going to talk about, than I'd appreciate it if you didn't talk to me at all!"  
  
Miranda sighed. "But I like Taylor! What's wrong with talking about him?"  
  
"Look, as much as I think the guy is kind of strange, what ever happened to being loyal to Ethan?" Gordo asked her.  
  
"After he dumped me? How in the world do you expect a girl to be loyal to him, Gordo? That doesn't even make sense why I would!" Miranda ranted on.  
  
"Miranda, we've known Kate for a long time. And don't you think that she has to have been the one to brake things up between you two? Ethan's not really rude. He wouldn't just dump someone without a reason." Gordo told her. _I think._ He mumbled under his breath.  
  
"What are you getting at? What does it matter to you?" Miranda asked him, puzzled.  
  
"I just don't want you to get hurt, since Taylor seemed to get really hot over hardly nothing." He said, eating the last of his lunch.  
  
"I already explained this! I don't think what Taylor did was bad at all. I would have acted like him, too! Stop acting like you're my parent or something, Gordo!" Miranda told him, her voice raising higher. People around her started staring a little bit.  
  
"I'm just trying to protect you! If you don't want that, then fine. Have it your way. I'm just trying to be a good friend. Looks like I can't ever do that, huh?" He replied hotly, and left the table. He started thinking about how he hadn't even tried to explain how Lizzie was sorry.  
  
_ Gordo, you can be so selfish sometimes!_ He thought, crossing his arms. _Here poor Lizzie is, probably lying in bed right now sick and can't get Miranda to forgive her. And all I can think of is myself, and trying to get my points about Taylor across to Miranda._  
  
He decided to try and call Lizzie again when he got home, hoping that she'd be up and about when he was going to call. 


End file.
